A Foreign Exchange
by aemstar
Summary: An Emison Fanfiction! Alison DiLaurentis is part of a new type of exchange program that requires her to move to the town of Rosewood to attend senior year of high school. She is placed to live with the Fields family and that's when she meets Emily Fields. I don't own Pretty Little Liars.
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey everyone, this is my new story! It was actually suggested to me a while ago and I started but I got distracted with my other fanfic, let me know what you all think yes?  
I hope you all will enjoy.  
Basically this story is about Alison being a part of a exchange program and she lives with the Fields family for senior year.  
And they make quite an interesting first impression of each other. **_

_**A Foreign Exchange**_

 _ **Chapter One**_

"I still don't understand why you signed up for this." Emily whinged from the counter as her mother Pam walked hastily around the kitchen.

"Because Emily, it's good for you to be surrounded by a little culture." Pam was chopping up carrots for a roast dinner she was preparing for that evening.

"Mum... she's from California, I know they're socially... _different_ there but that's not really culturally diverse." Emily moved slightly to her right as Pam shoved the chopping board next to her leg.

"Emily Fields, you can complain all day but like it or not she's coming and she's staying."

"For how long again?" Emily looked at her watch sarcastically causing her mother to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Six months, now if you're not careful I'll let her occupy your room and you can be stuck with the guest room that has no television and no en-suit."  
Emily closed her mouth afraid to say another word and skilfully jumped off the bench when Pam shoved her leg again.

"Alright, I get the hint." She mumbled before quietly reaching for a chopped up carrot while her mother's back was turned.

"Don't even think about it." Pam warned from the corner of the kitchen, Emily's hand stopped in its tracks and she rolled her eyes.

"You're freaky when you do that." She muttered.

"Look, your father has gone to pick her up from the airport why don't you go put something nice on?" Pam turned from whatever job she was doing in the corner and looked her daughter up and down.

"What's wrong with this?" Emily questioned, her tone slightly offended as she looked down at her black skinny jeans, converse and baggy t-shirt that hung off one shoulder.

"Its fine dear, I just think maybe you could throw on something a little less..." Pam's words slowly drained away as Emily looked up from herself to her mother who was struggling for words.

"A little less _gay_?" She chuckled softly at her mother's innocent nature before turning on her heel and heading out of the kitchen. "I don't know how successful I'll be but I'll see what I can do."  
Emily chimed her sarcastic words behind her as she made her ascent of the stairs.

"I'm glad you're so forth coming about your sexuality, Emily." Pam hummed loudly up to her daughter, matching the sarcasm in the brunette's voice.

"You've had time to come to peace with it; you're not so bad with it now." She laughed as she poked her head down the stairs so her voice would travel.

"Not everyone is so accepting dear."

"You weren't exactly sunshine and rainbows about it when I told you." Emily reminded her mother, while being cautious not to sound too harsh but when Pam didn't respond she knew she had pushed the playful banted a little too far. Making her way back down stairs Emily looked at her mother who had stopped her activities in the kitchen with a look of deep thought slapped across her face.

"Mum... I was only joking." Emily said softly, hoping her apology would be recognisable to her mother who had tears welling in her eyes. "I'm sorry..."

" _Ha_! I got you!" Pam's facial expression immediately changed as she wiped away her fake tears and began laughing at Emily's stunned expression.

"Oh _god_!" She exclaimed, feeling extremely relieved. "You're such an asshole! I really thought I had upset you then!"

"That's what makes it so funny!" Pam chuckled before continuing with her bustle in the kitchen.

" _Urgh_! I'm going to find something _really_ gay to wear now." Emily quickly ran out of the kitchen before her mother could fit in another snide remark.  
She laughed to herself as she looked around her messy wardrobe for something somewhat suitable to wear for the meeting of the new exchange student.  
She still couldn't figure out why the girl was even coming, yeah sure it's a fair amount of distance but people on exchange programs are usually from the other side of the world, not the country.  
She rolled her eyes at how quickly her mother had volunteered them to host the girl. Even with Emily starting senior year and this new girl starting with her she still couldn't understand, it was such an odd situation.

"No time to get changed Emily! I'm pretty sure they're here!" Pam yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"Thank goodness, I didn't have any clothes. I really need to do some washing." Emily jokingly smelt her under arms as she walked to the top of the stairs, her mother still at the bottom waiting near the door.

"Are you on-purposefully trying to scare this girl away?" Pam questioned.

"No but I do think that _you_ think my sexuality will somehow do that, Mum she's from California! Pretty much everyone is gay out there, _she_ might be gay." Emily enjoyed stirring her mother; she enjoyed the playful banter they always participated in because it always made her feel accepted.  
Even though Pam wasn't very accepting about her sexuality at first, she moved on. When Emily was being ridiculed for who she loved it pushed a button inside Pam, causing her motherly instincts to take over and protect Emily and then suddenly it didn't matter anymore.

"Well if that's the case then you can keep the doors open if you're in each other's rooms."

"What makes you think she'd be in my room?" Emily smirked playfully as she leant against the handrail at the top of the stairs. She could hear her father opening and closing the car boot and then make his way up the path and towards the house. She could also hear faint talking.

"What's her name again?" Emily asked before they reached the door, remaining her position upstairs.

"Did you remember anything I told you Exchange Student Program?" Pam rolled her eyes before opening the door and smiling as she kissed Wayne hello.

"I kind of zoned out after you mentioned exchange student." Emily mumbled to herself as her father made his way into the house with a large suit case by his side. Her eyes widen in horror at how large the baggage was but she did have to consider the fact that it was six months.

"Hey Emmy." Wayne smiled up at his daughter, who was leaning with both arms on the railing.

"Hey Dad." She happily returned her father's smile before searching the door for the follower. She caught a glimpse of bright golden locks flowing effortlessly over the girls shoulders; she was wearing a plain blue dress with a comfy looking black cardigan. The girl looked astonishingly beautiful; her eyes matched the colour of her dress, her skin, though pale looked soft and warm.  
 _Wow_. Emily thought to herself as the girl introduced herself to Pam. Her voice even sounded beautiful. Needless to say, the girl was practically faultless.

"Emily, come down here and say hello." All eyes went to Emily as the brunette slowly rose from the railing and made her way down the stairs, her eyes never leaving the beautiful blonde's who also never broke contact.

"This is our daughter Emily. Emily this is Alison." Pam stood oblivious to the tension in the room as Wayne made his way upstairs with Alison's luggage.

"Hi." Emily finally managed after a long moment of silence.  
Alison was subtly looking Emily up and down, taking in what the brunette was wearing and making a quick judgement off what she saw. Though Pam hadn't seen what she was doing Emily had, causing the tension to rise between them.

"Hi." Alison forcibly replied. Finally noticing the awkwardness Pam quickly straightened up and looked at her daughter with raised eyebrows.

"Emily, why don't you go and show Alison her room, while I continue with dinner?" Pam turned hastily and disappeared into the kitchen.

" _Sure_." Emily muttered towards her mother knowing however only Alison could hear, the blonde quirked her eyebrow slightly at her comment but didn't bite. "This way then."

They walked in complete silence up the stairs and down the hallway, Emily was pointing out each room as she went.

"That's the bathroom, down there is my parent's room and your room is here." Emily stopped in front of a slightly adjured door, opening it she motioned Alison to walk in first.  
The blonde was holding onto an expensive looking handbag and with each footstep you could clearly hear the sound of her heels connecting with the floor. With the extra height Alison was the same size as Emily, giving her an extra dominant nature.

"Where's your room?" Alison questioned, her tone laced with intrusion.

"Back down the hall." Emily stood in the door frame and watched as Alison placed her handbag on top of her large suit case that her father had brought up earlier.

"So what do you do around here for fun?" Alison turned back around to face Emily after taking in the details of the very small room. It was dull and boring; it was clear that before the exchange program that this was the room in the house where boxes and old exercise equipment was dumped.

"Fun? Um... what's your idea of fun?" Emily crossed her arms and watched Alison look her up and down again. Well this girl wasn't afraid to do what she wanted that was for sure.

"Parties, shopping, anything really." Alison mimicked Emily's crossed arms and smirked when she realised the brunette had caught her looking her up and down again.  
Emily scoffed a small laugh before rolling her eyes at Alison's response.

"What?" Alison caught Emily's eyes once more, noticing the brunette silently curse herself for letting a laugh slip from her lips.

"That's slightly cliché, don't you think?" Emily speaks boldly as Alison's expression changes from light to hard in seconds, her dominant nature beginning to shine through.

"And you're not a walking cliché yourself?"Alison moved closer to her, causing her to swallow deeply at what the blonde was possibly going to say.

"What is so cliché about me?" Emily dares to speak but immediately regrets it.

"Is this some weird way of you flirting with me?" A large smirk dances across Alison's lips as she silently laughs at Emily.

"What makes you think I'm gay?" Emily couldn't help but ask the question.

"Look at you, jeans and converse? You may as well throw on a flannelette shirt or a leather jacket and tattoo the word dyke across your forehead." Alison pointed at Emily's clothing before tisking her tongue patronisingly.  
Her tone angered Emily. Sure, sometimes she would wear jeans and a baggy shirt but that didn't define her sexuality, it was what she was comfortable and that was why she wore it, not to make some fashion statement.

"For the record this makes me feel good, it doesn't define who I am but I suppose a close minded person like yourself couldn't fathom the fact that I wear a flannelette shirt because it's comfortable. _You_ on the other hand look incredibly uncomfortable in heels and a summer dress, considering its autumn. And also what makes you think you're so damn special that I would flirt with you?"

Emily's question was rhetorical and needed no answer, not that she waited for one either. Turning around she could feel her heart beating uncontrollably in her chest; she had never been this defensive before, usually she would let it slide.

"Enjoy the room; it doesn't have heat so I hope you have thicker clothes than that to sleep in."  
She turned again and walked down the hallway without another word taking a deep breath as she went.

Alison remained stuck in her place for a moment as she took in the feisty Emily's words, she was definitely a strong willed person but she knew that if she pushed the right buttons, she would be able to get under Emily's skin and when she did, well, she would enjoy it.  
Turning to her suitcase Alison was indeed extremely glad she had packed for the Philadelphia weather however annoyed that she agreed with her new housemate about bringing thicker clothes. She almost wanted to wear thin skimpy outfits to make a statement but decided her California body was not used to the Philadelphian cold.

Emily walked down the hallway quickly and turned into her room shutting the door a little too loudly as she went.  
Exhaling a large breath she slammed her body face first into her bed and groaned sarcastically.

" _Good one, Emily_." She mumbled into her fluffy pillow before lifting her head of air.

"Emily? Are you alright?" Pam knocked on the door before entering the room without permission. Emily rolled her eyes and moved from her face down position to look at her mother.

"Yes, I'm fine." Emily answered, though it was clear it was a lie. Pam raised her eyebrow before leaning out of the doorway to look down the hall and then back to Emily.

" _So_... what do you think of her?"

"Think?" Emily didn't know how to answer her mother's question because she didn't know what to think of the beautiful blonde that now lived down the hall. The only thing Emily could seem to think about her was that the blonde brought out the worst in her. "She's... _different_."

"Different good? Or different bad?" Pam shut the door slightly behind her and sat down next to Emily, sensing there was something wrong.

"I don't know. How's dinner going?" Emily tried to avoid Pam's questions as she moved her eyes along her daughter, observing every detail as if trying to find out the truth from her body language.

"It's good. It will be done in an hour so why don't you and Alison come downstairs and watch a movie with your father?" Pam decided not to push Emily further but also decided some further interaction would do the both of them some good.

"Fine, you can go invite her." Emily stood from the bed knowing her mother's gesture wasn't actually an offer but instead a demand, she had to watch a movie with Alison and her dad and it wasn't negotiable.

"Fine, you can get the drinks then." Pam smiled to herself as Emily cringed before turning back to face her.

"You can ask Alison what she wants then."

"No Emily, you're a big girl you can do it yourself." Pam's eyebrows would've risen higher if it were possible but as Emily leaned her body slightly out the door and sarcastically covered her mouth with her hand she already knew what her daughter was going to do. "Don't do it, Emily."

"Alison? Do you want a drink?" She whispered so softly her mother could barely hear. "No? Oh that's okay."

" _Emily_." Pam muttered in an unimpressed tone.

" _You_ ask and I'll go get dad a beer from the garage fridge." Emily exited the room before Pam could comment further and almost ran down the stairs for safe keeping.

"Want a beer dad?" Emily asked as she passed the living room.

"Yes thanks, Emmy." Wayne didn't turn from the television as he searched through the different selections of movies that were saved to the television's memory to find a movie.  
Without another word Emily headed towards the garage and looked back upstairs in case her mother or Alison was to come down.  
But so far so good and she made her way into the cold garage, shivering slightly she began her search in the very full fridge for a beer.  
When she came along a six pack she grabbed one and also a can of coke for herself and went to turn back into the house but she was met Alison leaning on the door frame with her bright blue orbs on her own.

"Bit young for that, don't you think?" Alison chuckled and nodded towards the beef while watching Emily squirm slightly under her strong gaze.

"I didn't realise coke had an age restriction on it." Emily muttered sarcastically as she tried to pass the blonde who instead lifted her arm across the pathway.

"You're a feisty one, aren't you Emily Fields?"

"I'm sorry I don't crumble to pieces and grovel at your feet when you enter the room." Emily side stepped and tried to walk around Alison but she merely copied her and blocked the other side. Sighing in frustration she shifted awkwardly on both feet before stepping backwards from the blonde who seemed to enjoy invading her personal space.

"Oh you crumble alright." Alison chuckled again as her trademark smirk slipped across her lips once more.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Whatever you want it to." Alison took a step forward in an attempt to dominate the defensive brunette but was interrupted by Pam's voice echoing from the kitchen.

"Emily, can you get a bottle of wine out of the fridge too?" Emily rolled her eyes and turned back to the fridge. Pulling the first bottle she could find she turned back to Alison who took the coke can out of her hand and smiled.

"Thanks." She chirped, though both knew it wasn't genuine and she left the garage without another word. Emily took in a deep breath before opening the fridge once more and pulled herself out another coke.

"Here Dad." She said as she made her way back into the living room where Alison had already made herself comfortable in her favourite lazy boy chair.

"Thanks darlin'." Wayne looked away from the television and towards Emily, following her gaze towards Alison who pretended to be oblivious to the current conversation.  
Patting on the lounge beside him Wayne gave Emily a reassuring look.  
Sitting down next to her father she sighed quietly before making herself comfortable and cracking open her drink.

"What about Die Hard?" He questioned Emily more than Alison; he was still adjusting to her presence.

"Oh my god no, Dad we watch that the other day."

"Yeah because the time before that you made me watch Mean Girls."

" _Please_ not Die Hard." Emily begged while rolling her eyes, subtly glancing over at Alison she noticed the quiet blonde was smirking at their bickering.

"How about we let Alison pick?" Wayne's question didn't really require an answer so before Emily could object he handed the remote to the blonde who smile largely before briefly looking over to the brunette.

"Thank you Mr. Fields." She said innocently, causing Emily's eyes to roll again.

Deciding to take advantage of her position Alison chose the most appropriate movie to further annoy Emily.  
Selecting Magic Mike she pressed play without bothering to ask if it was alright and sat back in the lounge before opening her own drink and pretending to act innocent.

Wayne and Emily exchanged displeased looks before both sighing quietly in unison.

" _You_ gave her the remote." Emily whispered to her father as they cleaned up the dishes from dinner.

"Don't remind me." He mumbled, feeling like he had just waste two hours of his life watching Channing Tatum hump random women.

"You could've said something."

"We _could've_ watched Die Hard." He commented as he placed a dish on the sink ready for Emily to wipe up.

"I regret even contesting that movie after watching that rubb-"

"What are you guys talking about?" The sudden sound of Pam in the doorway made both Emily and Wayne jump from their activities and bickering.

"The weather." Wayne quickly answered as he and Emily turned to face Pam. Emily looked up at him with raised eyebrows and an are-you-serious look.

"Good one." She muttered towards him, rolling her eyes when he shrugged his shoulders. Pam raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms unimpressed with the whispering the pair was doing.

"What are you guys _really_ talking about?"

"Magic Mike." Emily gave up the battle in pretending she would actually get away with lying to her mother.  
Pam scoffed and covered her mouth when she realised the volume.

"Cause that movie is right up both of yours alley, yeah?"

"It was Alison's choice." Wayne justified quickly, only causing Pam to laugh harder.

"Well there goes your theory of all California people being gay, Emily."

"Urgh _Mum_ , I was only saying that to stir you." She rolled her eyes at her mother's playful banter before putting the last of wiping up in the cupboards. "Where is California, anyway?"  
Both Wayne and Pam looked over at her with horror crossed with astonishment clear in their eyes.

"I meant _Alison_." She clarified and watched with amusement their eyes lowering instantly.

"She went upstairs; she said she was going to get ready for bed."

"It's eight o'clock?" Wayne mused curiously.

"She's probably feeling home sick honey. Emily, why don't you go see if she's alright?"

Knowing full well that there wasn't a choice in the matter, Emily left the kitchen without another word and headed upstairs towards the guest room.  
The door was almost shut but Emily could still clearly hear talking on the other side.

"You should see this place, Jason. It's such a one horse town, its cold and raining and the people are boring and dull."  
There was a long moment of silence in which Emily edged herself closer to the door so she could hear what Alison was saying clearly.

"They have a daughter. Oh my god, she's so lame it's unbearable. Oh _and_ she's gay! So I made her watch Magic Mike, it was hilarious!"

Emily peeked through the available gap in the door and saw Alison pacing back and forth throughout the room with her mobile phone to her ear. A laptop was sitting on the bed, it looked like it was paused on a movie but she couldn't see what it was exactly.  
Accidently leaning too hard against the door Emily caused it to creak slightly, making Alison stop in her tracks and pause her conversation on the phone.

"Yeah, I'm still here." She said as she made her way to the door, confused when she opened it to find nobody behind it. Thinking she was imaging things she went back to her conversation with her brother.

Emily softly shut her bedroom door and leant against it, letting out a large sigh of relief that she had managed to escape from being caught by Alison.  
Moving over to her bed she searched for the remote for her television and played the first movie she could find, though her thoughts were greatly distracted with Alison's harsh words.  
It seemed Alison was a lot meaner than Emily had first expected...

 **So, what did everyone think?  
A BIG thanks to the guest who suggested this story, I personally love it and think it has great potential.  
Let me know if you would like me to continue it :)**

 **-Aemstar**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two**_

It had been just under a week since Alison had moved to Rosewood and she hadn't really seen Emily properly since the first day she came. The brunette was going to great lengths to avoid her, which she was enjoying but at the same time there was nothing interesting to do but mess around and tease the brunette.  
For entertainment she had been going to the movies and coffee shops just to pass time, so at least she was making friends.  
Well, she didn't really have friends; she had people who followed her around thinking of the next thing to say to try and impress her, which suited her just fine.  
But for that particular Sunday, the day before school went back; Alison was sitting in her cold dull room waiting for more time to pass.  
Having a week to adjust to Rosewood and its miserable weather was not enough time for her but she felt she would do just fine when she walked through the school doors tomorrow. She had made a good impression on the popular kids and was fairly sure she would be their leader in good time, if she wanted to.  
Looking over at her laptop the end of movie was playing and the credits were rolling through, she knew it would just continue onto the next one in the playlist so she didn't bother to move from her position on the bed but she merely looked forward and pretended she cared about to movie in the first place.  
She just enjoyed having the sound in the silent house, both Wayne and Pam were out shopping or something and she hadn't seen much of Emily since she arrived except for the occasional meal or passing in the hallway.  
The sudden sound of the door opening and closing interrupted her thoughts but she figured it was the parents.  
However when she didn't hear much noise after that it seemed clear it wasn't, she could hear faint footsteps coming up the stairs but it was obvious the owner was trying to make it softer than normal.  
Smirking to herself Alison stood from the bed when she realised it was Emily trying to make it to her bedroom without being caught.

"Haven't seen you much this week." Alison's smirk grew when Emily's shoulders hunched and then dropped when she realised she was caught.

"It was the last week of summer, what do you expect?"

"I would hardly call _this_ summer, besides you said yourself, its autumn. Remember when you made that comment about my dress?" She was teasing more than anything, Alison knew it was the end of summer going into autumn so some days it would be hot and others it wouldn't be but she enjoyed the stirring none the less.

"It's _coming_ into autumn." Emily corrected before throwing her bag in her room and leaning against the door frame, crossing her arms and waiting for the inevitable insult that was heading her way.

"Well thank you for the correction, I would have never known without you." Alison said sarcastically; with her smirk still clear as day across her face.

"You're welcome." Emily rolled her eyes in response before walking into her room and picking her bag to unpack it as she went. Alison followed curiously.

"Where have you been all this time anyways?" Alison leant against the door frame and watched Emily unpack her clothes from her swimming back. The brunette sighed before looking over to Alison who still had a smug look on her face.

"Why do you care?"

"A girl can be curious." She shrugged her shoulders and replaced her smirk with an innocent but manipulative smile.

"None of your business." Emily saw straight through the fake smile Alison had forced across her lips which was then quickly replaced with her usual smirk. There was something about Emily that intrigued her, she was confident but not. It was an odd mixture, it was like Emily didn't want to let her be dominant but at the same time she did.

"At your girlfriends place?" She pushed when Emily threw her dirty clothes in a pile on the floor.

"What makes you think I have a girlfriend?"

"I'm just guessing, although I'm sure she's either blind or stupid." Emily cringed at Alison's insult but forced herself to ignore it.

"A little jealous, are we?" She chuckled sarcastically, suddenly feeling confident.

" _Please_."

"And I suppose your boyfriend _loves_ your personality?" Emily turned to fully face the blonde whose face was almost red with anger, but she quickly recovered and smiled.

"What makes you think I have a boyfriend?"

"I heard you talking to him the other day."

"So you were there, I _knew_ you were listening." Emily stopped dead in her tracks as she realised how much she had revealed, she had over spoken, had gotten too confident and now it seemed she was going to pay the price.

"I overheard when I was walking to my parent's room." She fumbled quickly but Alison merely laughed softly before crossing her arms, dominating and ready to pounce on her prey.  
Walking into the room she closed some distance between her and the almost shaking Emily, it seemed she was terrified but was trying to hide it.

"Next time you lie to me, at least make it believable. And don't ever listen in on my conversations again, or I'll make you regret it." Alison turned swiftly and headed out of the room but quickly popped her head back through the frame and smiled patronisingly. "By the way, I was talking to my brother."

She left without another word and smiled to herself triumphantly when she heard Emily slam the door behind her.  
As she entered the confinements of her room she too slammed the door and turned the volume on her laptop as high as it would go. Knowing well that their rooms were next to each other gave Alison a sense of accomplishment, because she knew it was going to annoy Emily further.  
When she presumed her position on the bed Alison rested against her arms and smiled as some horror movie came onto the screen. It was a terrible movie but the screaming she was sure would create further annoyance to her feisty neighbour.  
After five minutes of pretty much nonstop screaming the sudden sound of loud music blasted through the walls from Emily's sound system she had gotten for her birthday the year before.  
Emily knew that the loud volume was aimed at her but she merely turned her system up and blasted out any interrupting noise.  
After almost an hour of listening to music Emily had managed to clean her room and get her bag ready for school the next day. The only reason she had lost her rhythm was because Pam had come rushing into the room and turned the music down.

"Emily! For goodness sakes!" She exclaimed when Emily turned around surprised by her entrance.

"What?" She said innocently.

"You know I hate it when your music is that loud."

"I didn't know you were home." She defended quickly.

"Well you would have if didn't have it so loud. Your father and I called up the stairs saying hello, Alison was the only one that responded."

"Good for Alison." Emily mumbled as she folded a pair of socks and threw them in her draw. She hadn't realised until that moment that the loud noise of screaming had stopped producing from Alison's room, rolling her eyes she didn't bother to try and justify to her mother why the music was so loud in the first place.

"Oh thank goodness that incessant racket has stopped," Alison voice came from the door and Pam turned mildly surprised at her sudden presence. "I've been trying to study all afternoon, Mrs Fields."  
Emily rolled her eyes at Alison's manipulation but didn't bother to turn and give her the satisfaction of acknowledgement.

"Why didn't you say something, dear?"

"I couldn't, the music was too loud. I didn't want to be a bother." Alison was looking directly at Emily, starring holes in the back of her head knowing that the manipulation was working well on Pam.

"Oh my god, you're so full of shi-"

"Emily!" Pam interrupted before the frustrated brunette could continue and Alison smiled another triumphant smile that Emily was annoyed with beyond all reason when she turned around to face her mother and roommate.

"Urgh, I'm going to Maya's." She threw her hands up in defeat and grabbed her phone before leaving the room. Pam sighed, she had never seen Emily react this way before but Alison seemed genuine so it was hard to understand the problem.

"Who is Maya?" Alison asked curiously, pretending to not sound intrusive.

"I _think_ she's her girlfriend but they're not official. I don't know what's going on with them; she never talks to me about that."

Pam sighed again at Emily's quick departure but smiled at Alison before turning and leaving the room, following Alison notice Pam's slightly hunched shoulders indicating her disappointment in the fact that Emily had disappeared again for the night. Walking passed the front door Alison slipped out when Pam made her way into the kitchen. Quickly power walking to the end of the driveway Alison stood behind Emily's car and crossed her arms before standing her ground.  
As Emily looked in the rear view mirror to see if the way was clear to back out she was surprised to see Alison blocking her path. Looking dominant as ever, Alison skilfully raised one eyebrow while popping her hip out to one side, displaying her disapproval for Emily leaving her mother the day before school went back.  
Rolling her eyes Emily cut the engine and got out of the car and walked to meet Alison in the middle of the driveway.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to back out." She said, frustrated.

"Yeah, I do mind. Your Mum clearly wanted to see you and spend some time with you before school goes back. Is a relationship with some girl, that I'm sure won't even last, more important than your relationship with your parents?"

"What do you know about relationships exactly?" Emily became defensive at quickly Alison was ready to undermined her relationship with someone she didn't even know.

"A lot more than you apparently."

"The only reason I'm leaving is because you're making it your personal goal to make my life here a living hell."

"No, you want to go to Maya's house because you want to spend the rest of the evening hooking up with her."

"What makes you think I'm even in a relationship with her in the first place?" Emily questioned curiously and Alison paused, for the first time ever she didn't have an answer but she quickly tried to think of something to say.

"You've spent the whole of last week with her."

"No, I spent all of last week with my friends. I found out that this year I'm not going to be in some of their class and that Maya and I are going to be in the same English class. I figured I'd make friends." Alison could tell instantly that Emily wasn't lying.  
There was something about her, it made it hard to ridicule and mock when she was being so honest and genuine. She had never struggled like this before, she felt her eyes soften and her need for insulting the brunette lessen. It was somewhat displeasing.

"So she's not your girlfriend?" Alison almost slapped herself for letting the question slip; she couldn't even understand why she cared enough in the first place to ask.

"Not that it's any of your business, but no, she's not."

They stood in silence, it was awkward but only because Emily was waiting for Alison to move so she could get back in the car and leave. Sensing the brunette's train of thought Alison merely adjusted her crossed arms and smirked.

"Look, I'm not trying to tell you how you should spend time with your parents, but I am saying you should appreciate the fact that they want to spend time with you."

Emily's eyebrow quirked at how philosophical Alison's advice came across, it seemed too good to be true that it was coming from her mouth.

"I love spending time with them. You're just making it difficult to."

"Get over it Emily, sometimes people get in the way. Learn to deal with it."

Emily would've thought Alison was being authentic for a moment until she went back to her usual dominant and insulting self.  
Rolling her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day Emily sighed and headed back into the house, not waiting for Alison to follow.  
Heading into the kitchen she heard the front door shut and Alison make her way upstairs. Pam was making a cup of coffee and seemed lost in her thoughts, so lost she didn't even hear Emily behind her.

"Is there enough for me?" She murmured softly and Pam turned around in surprise.

"Oh hello sweetie, I thought you were going to Maya's?"

"It's the last day of break; and I'll see her at school every day. I'd rather spend some time with you."

Emily wasn't doing it because Alison had made her, she did actually want to spend time with her mother but with the blonde around and making it difficult to even be in the same room she found it hard to keep a cool head. Something about Alison always seemed to get under her skin.

"Oh really? Well there's plenty of coffee, and your father is out at the barbeque so let's put some music on and join him."

Alison paced around her room, trying to figure out why she had just spend the last ten minutes convincing Emily to stay home with her parents. Why was this Emily girl making it so difficult to be her usual "arse-a-holic" self? And why did she find it necessary to leave the house just to get away from her? Usually she would have basked in the fact that she had annoyed Emily enough for her to get to the point of leaving, but in this case it only confused her.  
Breaking her away from her mind field of thoughts Alison heard laughter coming from her open window. Rolling her eyes she went to shut it but when she looked down to find who owned the laughter she saw Emily and her mother snickering and Wayne picking up a beer can that must have fallen over, causing the laughter.  
They seemed happy, which again confused Alison. Why would Emily choose some girl over that?  
As she looked down at the small family sitting in their backyard she felt a pinch of envy course through her before she forced it to leave her mind.

Enjoying the sun before it fully set Emily titled her head back and enjoyed the moment she was sharing with her parents. Looking over at the house she saw Alison standing at the window.  
They shared an unidentifiable expression before Alison shut the window and blinds, blocking out the sound and vision of the distraction that lay outside.

Emily was sitting in the kitchen finishing the last of her breakfast and coffee, it was less than an hour until school and Alison hadn't emerged from her bedroom since the night before.  
Thinking she should go see if the blonde was at least awake she decided against it, feeling like she didn't want to get abused that morning.  
After finishing her breakfast she put her bowl in the sink and went to make herself another coffee. Lost in her thoughts Emily tried to understand why Alison thought she and Maya were in a relationship, it wasn't as if she had even mention her before last night. Assuming her mother had revealed more information she rubbed her head in frustration before taking a large sip of her new coffee.

"Do you mind if I make myself one?" She heard from the other end of the kitchen. Turning Emily found Alison dressed in a tight skirt with a nice flowy short sleeved blouse, finished with the cardigan she wore the first day she came to Rosewood. However today, she looked comfortable.  
Emily was mildly surprised at how polite Alison actually was but decided not to point it out.

"Go ahead." She said while moving out of the way so Alison could make herself a coffee. There was a moment of silence in which Emily smiled softly at the blonde before turning and sitting back on a stool at the kitchen bench.  
She watched as Alison tried to make herself coffee while sipping at her own.  
When the blonde wasn't having any luck with the coffee grinder she stood again and went to help her.

"Here, it's kind of broken." Playing with the machine she managed to get it to work. "Not broken enough for us to buy a new one though."

Alison let out a small laugh and moved out of the way to let Emily make her coffee. After almost two solid minutes of silence the brunette was sure the room was laced with a thick atmosphere that would make any normal person want to scream but instead she merely enjoyed the company.  
Finishing the last of the coffee, she turned to Alison and smiled warily.

"Sugar?"

"Two... please." Another silence filled the air as Emily stirred in the sugar; she was very surprised when Alison used the word please, especially in front of and _to_ her. "Thanks." She murmured shyly when Emily handed her the coffee.

"Are you feeling okay?" Emily blurted out abruptly, almost kicking herself when she realised how rude she sounded.

"Yeah, why?"Alison raised an eyebrow skilfully as she brought the fresh cup of coffee to her lips, sighing at how good the beverage was. Letting it slip warmly down her throat and providing a kick of energy that she knew she would need for a school day.

"Oh uh, no reason. I just thought, I mean... I was going to ask if you were nervous for school?" Emily fumbled through several different thoughts of what would seem most likely to be a question in such a situation. She felt she had recovered when Alison's eyebrow lowered.

"It's nothing I can't handle."

They took a sip of coffee in unison and watched each other as they did.  
Alison smiled, she didn't know why but she found Emily to be very interesting and her smile to be contagious.  
They stood at opposite ends of the kitchen, sipping at their coffees and looking at each other. Alison realised then how exposed she was, how comfortable she was around the brunette and instantly she didn't like it. Putting the now empty cup in the sink she adjusted her cardigan and grabbed her school bag.

"We should probably go." It wasn't open for the discussion and Alison quickly departed the room before she could make any further conversation with Emily.

The car ride was silent until Emily played some music; she figured if she was driving Alison could deal with her taste in music.  
Alison watched the scenery go by from the passenger seat and when the music suddenly filled the car she realised how much she liked Emily's taste. When the brunette had been blasting the music in her room the day before Alison hadn't realised what she was actually listening to, until then.  
Deciding she didn't like the fact that her and Emily had something in common she changed the song until something completely different played.

"I like that song." Emily murmured, disappointed.

"Well, I don't." She lied quickly.

"Well, I do." Emily flicked back to the previous song but didn't look away from the road, partially because she was too afraid to face Alison's reaction.  
The blonde was displeased with the fact that once again Emily had stood up to her but she didn't continue with the battle, considering she actually did like the song.  
Parking the car Emily turned off the engine and unclipped her seatbelt; Alison soon followed and quickly got out. In the distance she could see a few people she had made friends with throughout the week, they said they would wait for her on the first day so she wasn't surprised that they smiled and waved when she got out of the car.

"Emily!" She turned to find who had been calling the brunette and was met with a short, dark haired girl, she was very cute but Alison didn't dwell, she merely grabbed her bag and pretended to ignore what was going on, on the other side of the car.

"Hey Maya." Emily chimed before being pulled into a hug by the petite girl.

"Is this the exchange student everyone's talking about?" Maya said quietly so Alison couldn't hear.

"Yes, I am." Alison interrupted sternly, obviously overhearing the conversation as she walked around the side of the car to meet the other two girls.

"Wow, you must have like supersonic hearing." Maya looked over at Emily and the two shared a quick giggled before Alison sighed loudly, interrupting them.

"Don't bother waiting for me after school, I've got a lift." Alison said and she turned and nodded over to the group of people that had waved at her earlier.

"That's fine, I've got work anyway." Emily watched Alison carefully, but the blonde was starring Maya up and down, in fact the both of them were starring daggers at each other.

"Whatever, see you later then." Without another word Alison left, trying not to look over her shoulder as she went.  
She didn't know why but something about seeing Emily with Maya bothered her, suppressing the thought she walked as fast as she could away from the two.

"Well she's a ray of sunshine, isn't she?" Maya laughed before turning away from where Alison had just left.

"Try living with her, it's only been a week and I'm counting down the days until she leaves."

They headed into the school when the bell rang for the beginning of class. They briefly saw Alison at the office getting her class schedule but she was with at least four other people who were helping so it wasn't as though she would struggle.

"Hey Em, hey Maya." They heard from behind them, turning they found Hanna, Spencer and Aria walking towards them.

"Hey guys."

"Keen for another year?" Spencer said happily.

"As happy as one can be." Maya laughed.

"So Em, I hear the exchange student is in my chemistry class," Spencer began. "What is she like?"

Emily thought for a minute of Spencer and Alison's personality combined in a fifty minute period in a small classroom and she almost laughed at how much they would butt heads.

"She's... interesting."

"Interesting good? Interesting bad?" Aria questioned, sensing Emily's hesitation.

"I'm not sure yet."

The group decided to meet up at lunch time in the court yard and all separated to go to class. Emily and Maya spoke mostly of the summer break and what each had gotten up to but in the corner of her eye Emily could see Alison watching her from her locker and it brought to her mind more questions about the blonde.  
She didn't know yet whether she was "interesting good, or interesting bad" but either way she confused Emily greatly.

 **Hello lovely readers,  
I got excellent feedback about the first chapter of this story so I shall continue! I've got two stories running at the moment however so I'll try and juggle as evenly as I can.  
If you've got any suggestions at all for this story I am more than happy to listen, I've already gotten a few and I'm going to be working it in, so more is appreciated :)  
Please favourite, follow and review (if you can be bothered) there is never any pressure it's just fun to read them ^.^  
Anyways hope everyone enjoyed.**

 **-Aemstar**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey guys! Just wanted to say thanks for all the reviews and suggestions.  
I wanted to clarify quickly that Maya is not the bad guy, nor is the fanfiction based around her and Emily's relationship, this is 100% Emison, the only reason I am clarifying is because someone asked. Enjoy!**_

 _ **Chapter Three**_

"I have come to the conclusion that Alison DiLaurentis will cause me trouble for the next six months." Spencer uttered loudly as she slammed her books on the old wooden bench that Emily, Arai and Hanna had already made themselves comfortable on. The three snickered at the taller brunette's displeased expression before quickly hushing when she shot them evil glares.

"That bad, huh?" Emily chuckled, slightly glad that she wasn't the only one having troubles with the new exchange student.

"Let me put it to you this way, interesting is the polite way to define her." Spencer flopped her body roughly onto the available spot on the bench next to Emily.

"Come on Spence, she can't be that bad." Aria mused innocently, remaining her usual understanding self.

"Yeah, you should give her a chance." Hanna chimed in, looking over at Spencer and Emily who both looked unusually out of character that lunch time.

"Shut up." Spencer mumbled before rubbing her temples soothingly, willing the headache that had formed in her last class to go away.

"So, what happened?" Emily coached Spencer, her curiosity getting the better of her when she noticed Alison walk out of the school building and into the school grounds with her new friends.  
Her three friends followed her gaze before looking back with raised eyebrows at her.

"She wouldn't stay focused for more than two minutes, the teacher was about to lose it but then she suddenly stopped and focused. She's weird. _And_ she's a know-it-all."

"Oh I see what's going on here, Spencer has competition and Emily thinks she's cute." Hanna's bluntness made both brunettes remain dead with silence; she and Aria shared a giggle at their lack of response

"Shut up." Spencer muttered again, proving Hanna's point, while Emily's silence merely displayed her sense of uncertainty to the entire group.  
Looking up from her half eaten sandwich she caught eyes with the mysterious blonde who was sitting on the grass underneath a tree with a large group of people. All eyes seemed to be moving with the conversation that Alison must have started and were waiting patiently from a response.  
The moment between them as only a few milliseconds but to the both of them it felt like hours, Emily didn't understand why but she felt her lips move into an unauthorised smile before she was interrupted by a voice.

"Hey guys." Maya beamed happily causing Emily's eyes to snap away from Alison and the other three to snap from Emily.

"Hey, Maya." Emily recovered quickly but her three friends merely kept looking awkwardly between Alison who had only just averted her gaze from the flustered Emily.  
Quickly replying with various hello's Spencer, Hanna and Aria sat quietly.

"Em, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure." She stood without looking at her friends and their invasive eyes but merely smiled at Maya and followed her a few feet away and out of ear shot.

"So, listen, what are you doing after work tonight?"

"Um I don't know, probably homework." Emily shifted; suddenly she didn't know what she was doing.

"Emily it's the first day, how much homework could you possibly have?"

"Enough to make my mum be on my case I'm sure." She shared a laugh and Emily felt herself relax, looking over at her friends they quickly turned away and pretended they were having their own conversation.

"Well maybe we could do homework together?"

"I'd like that, my place at eight?"

"Great, see you then." Leaning in Maya gave Emily a small kiss on the cheek before turning and leaving swiftly and rather elegantly.  
Emily turned back to her friends and smiled before sitting back on her seat beside Spencer, they were all looking at her curiously, their eyebrows raised and their expressions unusually excited for a Monday lunch.

"What?" Emily finally questioned after almost two solid minutes of her friends staring at her.

"You have a date?" Hanna spoke as if what had just happened was totally out of the blue; Emily and Maya had known each other for years, why was a conversation at lunch so unexpected?

"We're doing homework together, it's not a date."

"Oh yeah _sure_ ," Spencer counted sarcastically. " _Homework._ " She winked and the others laughed.

"Very funny." Emily replied, her eyes getting distracted with a certain blonde that was still in her spot under the tree.  
Alison didn't look happy, she seemed pretty unimpressed but that seemed to be her expression most of the time or her trademark smirk.  
The rest of lunch passed uninterrupted while Spencer, Hanna and Aria were talking nonstop about how they weren't looking forward to the rest of the year, well Spencer was but the other two weren't. Emily didn't contribute much to conversation as her thoughts were distracted elsewhere, Alison kept looking at her and she found it off putting, she had never he one person stare at her so much, it was intimidating and she knew Alison knew it.

"So what's going on with you and Maya then?" Aria asked as she and Emily made their way to English.

"Nothing, we're just friends."

"Do you want more than just friends?" Aria sensed Emily's hesitation but chose not to make a comment about it; instead she sat down across from where Emily had chosen to sit for English and paid carefully attention to the brunette's silence.  
Several more students began making their way into the class, Alison followed in last, her handbag around her shoulder and her phone in her hand. It looked as though she was messaging someone and it was a heated conversation because her fingers were moving like a blur across the screen.

"I don't know what I want." Emily finally answered when she finally managed to drag her eyes away from Alison.

"She's trouble, Em." Aria whispered as she leant across her table to get in ear shot of Emily whose eyes quickly made contact with her own in surprise.

"What? No, she's just... interesting."

"Yes, you said that earlier." Her voice faded away as their teacher made it into the room and began the lesson. Everyone quieted down fairly quickly, which was impressive for how many people were in the class.  
Alison was still on her phone messaging away apparently completely oblivious to the teacher in front of her. To her however she just didn't care, English was an easy topic and she would catch up with anything she may miss in class, that was her attitude to pretty much everything but when Mr. Smith had noticed her lack of attention he wasn't impressed.

"Miss DiLaurentis, is it?" He called, grabbing the blonde's attention immediately but she didn't stop using her phone, she merely placed it down and smiled up at the teacher.

"Yes, that would be me." Her voice was sweet and innocent, obviously not what Mr Smith was expecting.

"I am not a fan of mobile's being used in my class." His tone softened drastically. "I know you're new here so will you please put the mobile away, I'm sure it can wait until after class."  
The whole class was waiting for Mr Smith to lose his patience or to give Alison a detention, because that was usually what he did but Alison's trademark smile had taken him aback and he suddenly felt no need to get angry with the girl.

"Of course, Sir." Alison placed her phone in her pocket and pulled out her books while Mr Smith continued with the lesson, his unusual change in character was so misplaced it caused Aria and Emily's mouth to gape open momentarily. Looking over at Alison Emily immediately noticed the blonde's hands underneath her text book tapping away at her phone again, rolling her eyes she was not surprised that Mr Smith did not pick on the blonde again for the rest of the class.

"Wow." Aria whispered, her tone displaying as much surprise as Emily felt about Mr Smith's softened exterior.

"Yep." Emily murmured in agreement and allowed a quick glance at Alison again, this time she was actually writing notes and paying attention, for some reason it was odd to look at. Maybe that was because some time had passed in the classroom and she was still expecting Alison to be starring at her phone.

When the bell finally went Emily couldn't have been happier to pack her books up and move on to the last class of the day. It meant only fifty more minutes until she could get out of school and be free.

"See you tomorrow then?" Aria mused as they stood in the hallway to say their goodbyes.

"See you tomorrow." Emily smiled.

"Have fun with Maya." Aria smiled and winked in unison before turning and heading down the corridor and out of sight.  
Smiling to herself Emily continued down the hallway and made a great effort to get out of everyone else's way, people seemed to be extra shovy today.

"I hear you have a date." Alison voice came out of nowhere, causing Emily to jump slightly.

"Hi, Alison, how are you?" Emily said sarcastically.

"I'm good, so when are you and Maya going on your date?" Alison's usual invasive tone was laced throughout her voice but Emily was getting somewhat used to it, and it had only been a week.

"It's not exactly a date, we're doing homework." Alison stopped in her tracks and raised her eyebrows questionably at Emily. "What?"

"Homework? Geez you've gotta work on your dating skills." Alison continued walking in no particular direction, considering her class was in the opposition one.

"Don't you have a class to go to?" Emily didn't really appreciate the mocking; she felt she wasn't in any particular mood to deal with insults. Especially not from Alison.

"I guess that would be the whole point of attending school, wouldn't it?" She smiled in response but Emily couldn't tell if it was genuine or not, Alison was so confusing, she was so hard to understand and read. Her body language always displayed confidence and dominance but whenever she was making a joke or mucking around Emily couldn't seem to pinpoint it, considering every other time she's always been serious.

"It's only the first day back and I wish it was the holidays already." Emily mumbled, unsure if her comment was aimed at Alison's presence or just aimed at how much school sucked.  
Alison however took it upon herself to take the comment as if it were aimed at her, considering she knew she was making home and school life hard for the brunette. Now however it didn't seem as tantalising and with the comment it just seemed to hurt, which wasn't something she was used to.

"Doesn't everyone? Anyway I'm going to class, have fun at work." She turned without another word and dared not to look back at Emily, for some reason whenever she was around the brunette her mind was always clouded, her judgemental and usual self was tainted and... _nice_.

"None of that, Alison." She whispered to herself, reminding her that she was the heartless popular girl that everyone loved to hate and hated to love.

Work had been going incredibly slow that particular evening, but then again for a small clothing shop on the main road on a Monday night was probably not going to make much business.  
Emily didn't even understand why it stayed open so late, there might be the stray customer that would come in, look for a bit, then leave without buying anything. All the while Emily would make small talk with them just to pass the time.  
It wasn't a large shop, there were a few costume jewellery items but for the rest of the store it was designer clothes and shoes, but people in Rosewood were cheap and didn't want to spend more than ten dollars on anything unless it was Christmas time.

"Hey Em, how is everything going?" The owner of the store walked in with two coffees and a large smile. She had left the store less than twenty minutes before and it felt like she had been gone for an hour that was how slow the evening was.

"Hey Sam, it's alright. A few random people came in but nothing exciting."

"That's good, I know I probably shouldn't leave you in the store by yourself because you're still young but I don't even think enough people know we're here for anyone to want to rob us." She laughed sarcastically, it wasn't as though the business was a bust, some days there would be big sales and other days it would be so slow you would forget what you were selling. Today was one of those days.

"So what were you telling me before, about the exchange student Alison?" Sam handed Emily a take away cup and sat down in the office chair and pulled out a book, she began writing some details down but Emily figured it wasn't overly important if she could talk and write at the same time.

"Oh yeah, I don't know she's just... confusing."

"Confusing how?" Sam didn't look up from her writing but her voice was attentive, she moved a stray piece of hair away from her face, it was the first time in a while she had actually worn it out, Emily thought she looked nice with it out.

"She's so up and down, I can't keep up. It's like one minute she's mocking me and then next she's asking me nicely for coffee. It's weird." Emily remembered back to earlier that morning when Alison was acting different, her exterior innocent and sweet and _very_ confusing, she really couldn't keep up.

"Maybe she's just as confused as you are." Sam pointed out, her philosophical ways shinning through.

"What do you mean?"

"She's from California, right?" Emily nodded when she looked up at her. "Things are very different here than they are there, maybe she's just adjusting."

"It's a possibility." Emily mused softly, still trying to understand why Alison was being so up and down.

"It could be the weather; maybe her Californian body is going crazy from the difference in heat." She joked playfully as she put the book away and joined Emily in leaning against the counter.

"That is also a possibility." They shared a moment of laughter before one of the regular customers came in a decided she wanted to buy something super expensive; to both Sam and Emily's happiness she left with a few items.

"So why does she bother you so much?" Sam asked as she put the money in the til and closed it.

"She doesn't."

"You're such a terrible liar." She smiled and grabbed her coffee before taking a large sip.

"Isn't she just?" A voice came from the door and interrupted the two chatting girls; they both looked over and saw Alison standing in the door frame, with her trademark smile as always.

"Alison," Emily fumbled and dropped a pair of shoes she had been preparing to put out on display, quickly picking it up she adjusted her hair and looked over at Sam, who was trying to hold back a laugh. "Sam, this is Alison, the exchange student I was telling you about."

"It's nice to meet you." Sam said genuinely and Alison smiled before walking up to the counter.

"And you." She replied before looking over at Emily who was still trying to gather a sense of composure.

"How long have you been standing there?" She asked softly, worried that Alison might have over heard their whole conversation.

"Not long, I was just walking passed and I thought I'd come see what you guys had, I didn't know you worked here." Alison's tone seemed genuinely interested but Emily couldn't tell, her eyes were even narrowed slightly, trying to figure out whether Alison was faking it or just being authentic.

"Yeah." It was all Emily could think of, her mind was distracted and couldn't seem to focus on making any real conversation.

"I didn't pick you for a designer person."

"Neither did I when I first started but Sam is a family friend and she needed help, so I offered."

There was a moment of silence in which Alison looked between Sam and Emily, she smiled at how thoughtful Emily was for helping out a friend but she couldn't help notice that Sam's gaze was a little too strong for her liking. Perhaps Emily had told her about how she had been acting over the last week.

"Well, I let you get back to work, see you when you get home." She turned swiftly and left the shop, not bothering to look behind her because she knew Sam would begin to question Emily the moment she was gone.

"What was _that_?" Sam giggled as Emily relaxed at Alison's leaving.

"What?" Emily countered defensively.

"Come on, your voice probably went up two decibels when she came in and I've never seen you blush like that."

"I was blushing because I dropped the shoes." Emily walked around the counter and put the shoes on the closest display so there was no way she could drop them again. She had suddenly felt very embarrassed and now that Sam was pointing it out she felt her cheeks burn a brighter red.

"Oh yeah _sure_."

"It's true." Emily defended, but she knew the more she defended the more Sam would tease her so it would probably be easier to just give up at that point.

"Emily, you're allowed to think someone's attractive. It's not breaking any rules with Maya."

"Maya and I aren't together, why does everyone keep thinking that?" She rolled her eyes in defeat.

"Maybe because you're doing homework together? At your place. And at night." She didn't even know what homework she would be doing that evening with Maya considering it was only the first day back but she knew for a fact they weren't a couple, especially if the evening did consist of homework.

"I do that with Spencer, Hanna and Aria all the time."

"It's different." Sam looked down at her watch and realised it was almost time to go home.

"How is it different?" Emily questioned when she began the process of locking everything away for the evening.

"Spencer, Hanna and Aria don't have feelings for you." Sam was right in that sense and it closed Emily down, there was nothing else she could say that would help her argument because she knew the dark hair girl was right.

"It's not my place to say but you seemed crazy about Maya a few weeks ago, what's changed in that time to make you so unsure?"

"Nothing has, Maya is great." Emily began helping with packing everything away and looked over at Sam who had raised eyebrows.

"Yeah she is, but you're feeling's have averted _elsewhere_."

"No they haven't, I've known Maya for years and I've known Alison for a week. Nothing has averted."

"Who are you trying to convince Emily? Me or yourself?"

Emily paused and looked away in defeat, this was definitely not an argument she was going to win, and Sam was always right in such a situation. Maybe it was because she was older and had more experience.

"Look, I'm not one for telling anyone what to feel but that girl is trouble. In saying that you do what makes _you_ happy, not Alison or Maya or even your friends and family. If you're happy everything else will fall into place."  
They shared a smile before moving onto a different topic of conversation but Emily's thoughts still consisted of Sam's words, she didn't know what to do but that was probably because she didn't know what she was feeling.

"Have fun with Maya tonight, okay? It'll be good for you." Sam said as she locked the door to the shop.

"Thanks."

"Don't let Alison get in your head, she seems like the person to be really good at that." She pulled the keys from the door and searched for her car keys. Walking down the road together they said their goodbyes before getting in their own cars and driving away.

When Emily pulled her car up in the driveway she was met with Alison sitting on the front porch with a cup of tea in her hands.

"How was work?" She questioned her voice neutral.

"Boring." Emily replied as she walked up the foot path and to the front door.

"Sam seems nice." Alison said while sipping her tea and Emily raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Yeah, she is." She opened the front door and was about to walk in when Alison's voice grabbed her attention again.

"Do you think my Californian body will get used to the temperature change anytime soon?" Her voice was smug and her smile was large and Emily cringe knowing that Alison had heard more than she once thought.

"What?"

"You find me confusing, do you?" She was still wearing the tight skirt she was wearing that morning but she now had a large baggy hoodie covering her entire upper body. Surprisingly she looked comfortable and warm, even with the skirt riding up her thigh that little bit too high, _distractingly_ high.  
Emily couldn't find any words to leave her mouth, she knew Alison's confidence was her way of dominating her but she really couldn't think of anything.  
The blonde's legs shifted up onto the seat and she placed them to one side, making the previous position look uncomfortable in comparison. Now she was looked all huddled up in a large jumper enjoying her cup of tea, Emily was kind of envious at how comfortable she looked.

"Aren't your legs cold?" She finally managed after a large gap of silence and Alison giggled at how distracted the brunette's thoughts seemed to be.

"No, but if me being in a skirt confuses you, I can always change."

"Very funny." Emily said while rolling her eyes before heading inside, ignoring Alison's obvious attempt to mock her.

Heading upstairs to get changed she quickly threw on what she could find she made her way back downstairs to talk to her parents.

"Hey Mum, hey Dad." She said as she entered the kitchen.

"Hey sweetie, your dinner is in the microwave, ready to be heated up. How was work?" Pam spoke first; she and Wayne were sitting on the stools at the bench eating the last of their dinner.

"It was fine." Emily forced conversation as she heated up her dinner.

"Is everything alright, Emmy?" Wayne asked when Emily sat next to him and began eating the food Pam had prepared for her.

"I'm just ready to go to bed, put it that way."

"Was work that bad?"

Emily didn't answer, she merely shrugged. It wasn't work that was bothering her, in fact Sam was the only person who wasn't being so intrusive about Maya, she was actually being very helpful and it was easy to talk to her.  
School was the problem, everyone looking at her and Alison; it was annoying more than anything but she didn't tell her parents that.

"Maya's here." Alison called from the hallway, interrupting the awkward silence that hovered in the kitchen.  
Standing up Emily left the kitchen and made her way to the front door where Maya and Alison were having a Mexican standoff.

"How are you enjoying Rosewood High?" She heard Maya ask, the nice tone of her voice obviously forced.

"It's alright." Alison replied when Emily had made it to the pair. Maya's expression lifted immediately but Alison's remanded the usual smugness.

"Enjoy your non date." Alison said before disappearing upstairs.

"What's her problem?" Emily asked when she noticed the tension between Maya and Alison.

"I don't know, she's your room mate. So what homework have you got to do?" Maya quickly changed topics and pulled her school bag from behind her shoulder and smiled innocently.  
Emily raised her eyebrows questionably at her change in character but didn't say anything.

"Just English."

Less than an hour had passed and she was finished with her homework, Maya said she didn't really have that much so they both had made their way from the kitchen bench to the lounge room and decided to watch a movie. Pam and Wayne had disappeared outside to sit by the pool; the soft hum of music could be heard which Emily found somewhat adorable.

"Your parent's are so cute." Maya giggled when Emily showed her all the movies she had on their DVD shelf.

"They are." She agreed, handing Maya a pile of disc to choose from.

"Let's watch this." Maya pulled out the first "Insidious" movie and smiled devilishly, it definitely wasn't something Emily would have picked. Mainly because she was a fan of old horror movies, the one that were in black and white.

"Sure." She said bravely, taking the disc from Maya and standing to put it in the DVD player.

The first thirty minutes were boring beyond all reason; she had almost forgotten it was a horror movie until something jumped out of the screen, causing Maya's hand to subconsciously grab her leg.

"I always forget that part." She giggled as she cuddled into Emily. Clearing throat she put her head against Maya's and smiled, it kind of felt nice to have someone around that wasn't mocking her. She didn't really know what she was feeling in that moment; though her thoughts were elsewhere with Alison she knew she enjoyed Maya's company. She was a good friend and it was nice to have something like that.

"Wow, a horror movie. How cliché." Alison had walked down the stairs and had watched less than two minutes of what was going on. When she heard the screaming coming from the television she couldn't help but investigate. That was when she had come down to find Maya cuddling up to Emily, and she couldn't help the sense of jealousy seep through.

"What are you doing here?" Maya asked when both she and Emily looked behind them to see Alison leaning against the door frame.

"I came to see what all the screaming was about. I was thinking maybe it was Emily finally figuring out that you chose a scary movie to get cuddles. That's like the oldest trick in the book by the way. Or maybe she just found out how much of a liar you are."

"What is your problem?" Maya was impressed with the interruption and decided she wasn't going to take anymore of Alison's attitude.

"My problem? I was just thinking about what I heard at school today. About you and Nate."

Alison smiled and watched Maya's expression change immediately; she smugly smiled before looking over at Emily who had a very confused expression across her face.

"Nate?" She questioned, trying to understand what Alison was actually revealing.

"Yeah, do you want to tell her Maya? Or should I?" Alison crossed her arms and gave Maya a warning glare, when she remained silent Alison caught the hint, leaving the room she knew it wasn't her job to spill the secrets Maya had been keeping from the brunette.

"What is she talking about Maya?" Emily asked quietly when Alison had ascended the stairs and was out of sight.

"Emily, I didn't think this was a committed relationship. You didn't seem interested so I've been seeing a few people."

Emily moved away from Maya quickly, for some reason she felt betrayed. Though she felt it was unwarranted as her and Maya were never actually official.

"I think you should go." Emily mumbled, the sudden sickening feeling spreading through her as she realised Maya's intentions were different then her own. Not that she knew her own intentions but it was as though she was seeing other people on the side.  
Maya caught the hint and stood from the lounge, Emily followed and opened the front door for her, her need to feel polite still hovering her surface.

"Don't be mad, Emily. You as well as everybody else have always known I'm not a huge commitment kind of person."

"I'm not, Maya. I just need a little time to think about everything, I like your company but I can't be seeing you, if you're interested in other people."

"I understand." Maya stood on her toes to give Emily a small kiss on the cheek before turning and heading towards her car. Emily shut the door and placed her back against it. She had never felt more confused and many questions ran frantically inside her head. Why didn't Maya tell her? Why did Alison find it necessary too? Why was she so offended by it all? And why, after all of those questions, did she feel a small sense of relief?  
Sighing she looked upstairs to see Alison leaning against the railing, the same spot Emily was leaning against the day the blonde had arrived.  
Her expression was unreadable but Emily was half expecting a smirk, it surprised her when Alison's lip twitched sympathetically.  
Walking up the stairs she ignored the blonde and went to her room, giving her an evil glare as she passed.

"You'll thank me later." Alison said confidently as she stood in Emily's door frame.

"Will I?"

"That girl is trouble, Emily." Alison's tone was soft and nothing like her at all.

"Funny, that's what everyone else has saying about you." Emily crossed her arms and shook her head in disbelief.

"I'm not dating half the football team and then trying to hook up with someone else on the side."

"How do you know that's true?"

"I've heard a lot of secrets in the week I've been here."

Emily remained quiet, she didn't want to deal with Alison and her attitude, she was over it. She just wanted to get in her pyjamas and go to bed, she didn't care what time it was.  
Flicking the television on she let the sound drown out her thoughts of Alison, she figured if she ignored the blonde then she would go away but when she turned around Alison was still there.

"Why are you so focused on making my life a living hell? What more do you want from me, Alison? You ruined my night, you've succeeded, now go away."

"It's better to find out now rather than later, there are less feelings involved now." Alison's voice was so soft and innocent it almost made Emily forget why she was in a bad mood.  
In an uncoordinated huff Emily took her jumper off and threw it on her bed, she really didn't feel like being told what to do by Alison.

"What do you know about feelings? Other than hurting them?" Turning to face the blonde again Emily was surprised to have Alison only inches away from her.

"A lot more than you think." Seconds later Alison's hands were on Emily's cheeks and were pulling her close. In the moments that passed their lips dangled dangerous close before finally connecting.  
Emily was so surprised she didn't even register what was happening until one of Alison's hands moved to her neck, holding her tighter.  
Letting go of all sense of rational thinking she let her own hands move to Alison's waist while their lips danced perfectly together in a mixture of passion and confusion.  
Fireworks tingled against Alison's skin, it felt so right kissing Emily, she didn't understand why but in that moment she decided not to care and as the brunette's hands slowly moved underneath the fabric of her jumper she felt more and more relaxed.

"Emily?" They heard Pam's voice from downstairs, obviously trying to figure out where she had disappeared to. Suddenly jumping away Alison left the room without a word and quickly took refuge behind her bedroom door, not bothering to wait and find out if Pam wanted anything from her as well.  
She didn't know what was going on but in that moment she knew she wouldn't be able to think properly around Emily again because the only rational thought she could picture was the brunette's lips against her own.

 _ **Hope everyone liked it, also someone asked me if Emily and Alison could do an assignment together, I personally have no problems with doing this but in my first fanfiction I had already done that. So if you want me to write it leave a review saying you would like it, if you don't want it please leave a review saying you don't. I will figure out by the amount of reviews what will happen, so please let me know, it'll be a big help.  
Thanks for reading guys, as I said in my last author notes and in my other fanfics I have a lot going on at the moment and regular updates are a challenge. Please be patient and I'll make it worth it.  
Thanks guys :)**_

 _ **-Aemstar**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four**_

It was lunch time but Alison didn't feel like eating, she merely sat under her usual tree and watched her new group bicker constantly about anything and everything.  
Noel had taken his usual place at her side and was offering her food every two minutes, it seemed he felt bad she wasn't interested in eating but her thoughts were on Emily and the night before.  
Their lips entwining together in a hot but confusing mess.  
She hadn't left her room the rest of the night; instead she put a movie on and tried to ignore the images that played on repeat in her mind.

"Alison, are you okay? You seem a little off today?" Noel whispered genuinely, trying not to get anyone else's attention.

"Hmm?" Alison looked away from the direction she had been staring. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. I'm just bored." She lied, not wanting to talk to about what she was really feeling.

"Wanna ditch? It's only English and you're super smart anyway, I'm sure you've already read the book and written an entire essay."

"I wasn't aware we had an assignment yet."

"We don't, but that was sort of my point." They shared a laugh before Alison looked over at the group she had been staring at all lunch. Emily wasn't facing her, she didn't know if it was on purpose or if it was because the brunette was mad with her. Spencer, Hanna and Aria all seemed lost in a conversation Emily didn't seem to be participating in.  
Looking back at Noel, she contemplated her options but when she looked over at Emily again she was surprised with three pairs of eyes quickly looking away from her.

"Sure. Let's go." Both stood and were bombarded with questions and curious eyes.

"We'll be back." Noel interjected before Alison could tell them the real reason they were departing. The group went back to their pointless chatter and almost instantly forgot the two were even there.  
As the pair turned to walk out the back gates Alison couldn't help but subtly glance back at Emily and her friends. When she looked closely she could see all eyes on her now, even Emily's but she merely turned her head back to her friends and pretended she hadn't seen anything.

"So since when was Alison a ditcher?" Aria mused when Emily forced her eyes to leave the blonde beauty that was walking out the back gates.

"I don't know, why does it surprise you?"Emily muttered, uninterested with the conversation that had changed so quickly from Toby attending the police academy to Alison DiLaurentis.

"Well from what I hear, she's super smart."

"A smart person ditching," Hanna laughed lightly. "That seems weird, I don't know why it's weird but it's weird, right?"

"Yes, Hanna, it's weird." Emily sighed in slight frustration as she played with the crust of her sandwich that she didn't feel like eating.

"So what's your problem then? Things not go well with Maya last night?" Spencer finally spoke, her curiosity blooming when Emily was becoming defensive about Alison.

"Not really." Her voice was soft because she really was not in the mood for talking about last night, at all.

"What happened?"Aria spoke quickly, not giving Spencer or Hanna a chance to make a snide comment. Emily didn't know what to talk about, because she didn't know what bothered her more.  
The fact that Maya was seeing other people, not that there was anything wrong with it; it's just how she found out, or the fact that Alison had kissed her and then run from the room. Deciding to go with the safer option and figuring it wasn't a good idea to talk about what had happened with Alison she chose the topic of Maya.

"Did you guys know she was seeing other people?" She looked up from her disregarded food and gave her three friends a wary stare, somehow feeling like she already knew the answer.

"Em, everyone knows that, we thought you knew." Spencer's voice was soft and careful, as if she was trying to break some bad news to the brunette.

"I just thought I was different."

Spencer, Hanna and Aria spent the rest of lunch trying to convince Emily that everything would be okay. In the back of her mind though she had never been more confused, it wasn't the Maya situation that was bothering her, it was Alison.  
As the group walked to their classes they decided to spend the afternoon at Spencer's, Emily was pleased because she would be away from Alison.  
The day went smoothly from that moment on, Alison didn't show up from English but both Emily and Aria assumed she would not return after leaving during lunch.  
No one questioned them and no one seemed to care that the blonde was missing, except the teacher of course but even after ten minutes he moved on.

Two solid weeks had passed and Emily had managed to not speak to Maya or Alison, it was a particular challenge considering she ate meals with the blonde.  
The two weeks had consisted of mostly being at Spencer, Hanna or Aria's house, so the only time she was really forced to be with Alison was English class.  
Her mother had noticed the issue but didn't press the matter, she decided to give them one more weekend to try and sort their problems out while she went away from Wayne for their anniversary. Luckily Emily had been home the Thursday night from work so she could inform her of what was going on. She had called both girls down from their rooms, surprisingly Emily came down first but Alison soon followed, both on purposely looking away from each other.

"Wayne and I are going away for our anniversary this weekend, we're leaving today around lunch time and we'll be coming home probably late Sunday night, if not then Monday morning."  
Both girls were silent, it was awkward and there was a sticky tension in the air that even Pam was uncomfortable with. Looking over at Emily she raised her eyebrows curiously, waiting for a response from her.

"I won't throw any parties; I know what you're thinking." Emily smiled, forgetting that Alison was in the house let alone the room for the first time in weeks.

"Thank you, the girls are allowed over though. Alison did you have any friends you would like to see over the weekend?"

"No that's okay Miss Fields, if I want to see anyone I'll go to them." Alison's voice was considerably lower in tone, she didn't seem her sassy normal self nor did she sound even close to happy but Pam figured it was due to the obvious atmosphere in the room because Emily was similar in behaviour.

"Okay well if either of you do need anything you can call us. Now run along you'd best be getting to school."

There was a knock at the door seconds later, Alison quickly grabbed her back and said her goodbyes before practically running from the room knowing it was Noel picking her up for school.

"Sort out whatever is going on between you two." Pam said sternly when Alison was gone.

"What?" Emily swallowed and looked at her mother, stunned.

"I don't know what has happened to make you both upset with each other but it's going to be a long five months if you keep acting like this."

"Five months?" Emily question thinking how much her mother was wrong, it had already been a month since Alison had been in Rosewood and that meant in five she would be going back to California. Maybe it would be better that way, maybe she shouldn't get her feelings involved with the blonde because it was an inevitable heart break.

"Yes Emily, now please make her feel somewhat welcome. The poor girl has been through enough."

"What do you mean?" She mused quickly, curious to her mother's response.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but the whole point of this new exchange program is to introduce Alison into a healthier family life."

"What was wrong with her family?"

"Well I don't know much but it's enough to make her pretty much live in her room."

Emily immediately felt guilt spread through her, though her mother's clarification didn't justify Alison's behaviour in terms of how cruel she could be, it definitely explained it.

"I'll make her feel more welcome." She promised her mother, knowing she wasn't going to get away with anything less.

"Please do, now school."

The day passed quickly but it wasn't quick enough that Emily's thoughts couldn't be distracted by Alison and the new piece of information her mother had bestowed upon her. But before she knew it she was walking with the girls out of the school gates and towards their cars.

"Hey my parents are away for the weekend, wanna come around?" She offered as they all stopped part way between their cars.

"Yeah sure, just give me some time to do some homework." Spencer answered first.

"Yeah me too, Mr. Smith is riding me about this work." Aria sighed.

"Alright well I guess that means I should do homework too." Hanna giggled.

"Okay well just come over when you're ready."

They continued some chatter of what they would do for the weekend, mainly discussing who was going to bring food.  
All spoke happily and unaware of the conversation Alison and Noel were sharing not too far away.

"So are you going to talk to Emily?" Noel asked his voice soft and curious.

"I don't know, it's complicated. She seems pretty pissed at me, doesn't she?" They both turned and looked over to the group; Emily caught their eye before quickly looking away.

"Yeah, she's pissed." He chuckled. "But if you don't talk to her, her anger will only grow. Defuse the fire now, while it's still small."

The stood there silent for a long moment while Alison contemplated her options, it seemed easy when Noel said it out loud but when putting words into action it became a lot more difficult. She sighed before looking back to the tall boy, he had a large smile which made her raise an eyebrow curiously; she followed his gaze to find him looking shyly over at Mona, one of the girls in her group. She was smart, funny, witty and pretty, she could understand why Noel had a thing for her, though he was too scared to admit it.

"Just ask her out already!" Alison rolled her eyes as Mona said goodbye to a few friends before getting into her car. "Go on, go!" She pushed Noel in the direction before he turned and gave her a quick smile, she had given him to confidence he wasn't aware he needed.  
Running to the car he knocked on the window to grab her attention, he smiled like a child but his boyish charm was still scratching his surface, making Alison laugh.  
Turning around she realised that she had just pushed her lift home away, deciding it was too far to walk she sighed when she knew she would have to ask Emily for a lift.  
Picking her shoulders up and straightening her back she walked over to the group and kept a neutral expression.  
When she had made it within hear shot they all went quiet, causing Emily to turn and find what they were staring at.

"I need a lift home." It was a demand that she instantly regretted.

"Good for you." Emily muttered her tone clearly unhappy with how Alison had asked for assistance.

"Will you please give me a lift home?" She tried again, this time her voice was softer and somehow managing to contain the anger she was suppressing.

"I wasn't aware you had manners." Spencer interjected but before Alison could make a snide comment back Emily interfered.

"Cool your jets, Spencer. See you guys tonight." With no further comments they all said their goodbyes and Emily and Alison turned to the brunette's car.  
It was probably the longest drive Emily had ever endured; the silence was so loud she wanted to blast the music in the stereo just to fill it.  
Alison looked out the window and had kept her eyes there, never once allowing them to slip to the also quiet brunette beside her. She felt mad that Emily hadn't said anything but at the same time she was dreading what the words could be. She wanted silence but she didn't.  
No matter how much her curiosity peeked she would not talk, she would not allow herself to be the first to bring it up because she wanted to forget about it. But then again she didn't.  
Her mind was an emotional mine field that she was terrified would explode with one single step, there was a big sign saying _danger_ but her feelings were daring to tippy toe passed it. So far they had survived but she was scared that with one single out of place word everything would be destroyed and so the only solution was to ignore the feelings. Pretend they weren't there, then she wouldn't get hurt. That was how she always survived.  
They had finally made it back to Emily's place without even a single word being said, not even force small talk about the weather. It was completely silent.  
Making into the house they had managed to walk up the stairs without a word either, it wasn't until Alison went to retreat to her bedroom that Emily finally spoke.

"If you want me to forget about it, then I will."

She stopped and waited, not knowing how to answer and not wanting to turn and face the brunette, who no doubt had a very hurt look across her face. Considering she could hear it in her voice, Alison knew the moment she turned around she would want to turn back. She had hurt Emily and for the first time in a while her mind was making an excepting for someone else's feelings.  
Inhaling a large breath she turned and looked Emily dead in the eye, she was surprised however to see a neutral expression, when she took too long to answer though Emily grew impatient.

"Do you want me to forget?"

"I... I don't know." She stuttered.

"I would just like to remind you, that _you_ kissed _me_ , Alison." Though Emily's expression was fairly neutral her voice gave her feelings away, it was obvious she was hurt and it only made Alison's heart sink in guilt. Before she could speak Emily retreated to her room and shut the door behind her, holding the tears back no longer and let them fall invasively down her cheeks.  
Wiping them away she fell on the bed and crawled up into a tight ball before letting more tears fall. She couldn't understand why she was so hurt; Alison angered her to the bone. Alison was mean and cruel and vindictive, why did what she do matter?

The sudden sound of her phone buzzing violently in her pocket woke Emily from her sleep, she wasn't even aware of how long she had been sleeping but when Hanna had called to say she and other girls were heading over with pizza for dinner she figured she had slept a fairly long time.  
Deciding to have a quick shower she grabbed some more comfortable clothes and was ready within twenty minutes.  
Being unable to control herself she snuck a quick look down the hallway when she left her room to see if Alison had gone, by the looks of it she hadn't but the door was shut tight so she couldn't be one hundred percent sure.  
Retreating down stairs Emily figured Alison wouldn't show her face for the rest of the night but if she did it would definitely be an interesting interaction.  
The door bell rang just as Emily began setting the television up to play a movie, being thankful that her thoughts were going to be distracted from Alison DiLaurentis.

"Hey you." Hanna walked in first with the pizza before Spencer and Aria followed in with bags full of drinks.

"Hey, did you guys bring any alcohol?" She questioned as she eyed the bags her friends were holding, feeling the sudden need to forget about everything that circled aimlessly in her mind.

"Oh, I wasn't aware we were staying tonight?" Aria motioned between the other two.

"You're more than welcome to." Emily hoped the three would say yes but instead they all had reasons as to why they couldn't. Spencer said she wanted to finish an assignment, Aria wanted to see Ezra and Hanna was apparently going shopping with her mother early the next morning.

"What about tomorrow night? We can have a mini party and have some alcohol then?" Hanna offered quickly, suddenly very open to the idea of having some alcohol related fun.

"Yeah, I'm down for that." Aria and Spencer agreed and within ten minutes the four of them were sitting in front of the television watching a movie. They sat quietly while they ate but when the food was finish chatter soon began to fill the air.

"So what was up with Alison this afternoon?" Aria was the bravest and brought the topic up first.

"Yeah, is she here?" Hanna added, feeling grateful that she wasn't the one to bring the topic of Alison up.

"How should I know?" Emily kept her focus on the movie, but pretending that there was nothing wrong was surprisingly hard when it came to Alison.

"Wait, was that to what Aria said? Or what Hanna said?" Spencer asked, trying to figure out which question Emily was acknowledging.

"Both." Her response short and blunt, unimpressed with the fact that once again her and her friends were talking about the confusing blonde.

"So, you don't even know if she's here?" Hanna's tone was laced with humour that she tried to suppress.

"Nope."

"She's really getting under your skin, isn't she?" Hanna continued, and Emily shrugged because she felt she had no other response to give.

"Thank goodness it's not just me then." Spencer broke the silence and shared a small chuckle with Emily. Aria sat quietly, she was the only one that hadn't had any extended interaction with Alison so she didn't really have anything to contribute to the conversation. All three girls picked up on this but chose not to make a comment as it was obvious Emily wasn't in the mood.

"So what's going on with her and Noel then?" Spencer asked after about a minute of silence.

"Why don't you ask her that?"

"Ah, thanks but _no thanks_." She replied quickly.

"What's wrong with asking me?" Alison's voice came out of nowhere, causing all four to jump and turn around in unison. "Am I scary?"

" _God_ , how long have you been standing there?" Emily exclaimed startled, forgetting that she was supposed to be ignoring the blonde.

"Not long, but long enough." She smiled shyly before moving off the door frame and heading into the kitchen. Three heads followed her and watched curiously at how she was behaving.

"Is she like this all the time?" Hanna whispered, looking over at Emily with large eyes.

"Like what?

"Like... not mean or rude, or nasty. Not really Alison at all."

"I believe the word you're looking for Hanna, is _nice_." Spencer giggled and Hanna joined in, Aria and Emily shared a displeased expression before returning their attention back to the other two.

"Oh come on, it's just a joke." Spencer defended when she noticed their moment. "Why does it bother you anyway if we make a joke about her? She's been doing it to everyone else for the last month."

"And that totally justifies you sinking to her level?"

"Okay, whose side are you on?" Spencer crossed her arms while Hanna and Aria exchanged a wary look.

"It's not about sides, I just don't think it's fair that you say she's been picking on people and then go ahead and pick on her."

Alison listened in from the kitchen as she quietly made a cup of tea. Though she knew the girls had gone through an effort to make the conversation about her quiet, the effort was quickly forgotten when Spencer became defensive. She stopped still in the kitchen trying to hear what they were saying, what she had found most important and unusual was Emily was standing up for her. Considering the situation at the moment Alison thought it would be the other way round.

"Okay, you've got a point, I'll stop." Spencer broke the tension herself, knowing that once Emily had her mind set on something it wasn't changing. She was the same but in this instance she knew she was out of line so it would be hard to argue.  
Emily nodded and went back to watching the movie.

"Well I was originally coming down here to see who was here, I expected you guys but I didn't expect the giant elephant."  
Alison chuckled as she sipped at her tea before heading back upstairs and into her room.

"What is she on about? An elephant?" Hanna was so surprised with Alison's remark she couldn't help but look back upstairs making sure she had heard right, making sure that Alison had indeed come down from her room and she wasn't imagining things.

"It's a metaphor, Hanna. She means it's really awkward basically." Spencer followed Hanna's gaze upstairs but only because she wasn't used to someone so witty.

"Well, I'd say it'd be pretty awkward if there was an elephant in the room."

"No, she means we're avoiding a certain issue... oh never mind." She gave up trying to explain because even to her she was confused, it may have been awkward but there wasn't anything, that she was aware of anyway, that the group was purposefully avoiding.  
However looking over at Emily, who had he knees tucked at her chest while she leant comfortably against her usual chair, Spencer immediately picked up on the hesitation the brunette was subconsciously and unknowingly presenting.

It was almost midnight before the girls had left, though the atmosphere had been awkward it had been relatively forgotten about after half an hour when Aria had managed to bring up the topic of Ezra, giving the girls something else to think about besides Emily's strange behaviour.  
As Emily walked the three to the front door she looked upstairs and was surprised she couldn't hear a movie coming from Alison's room. Usually there was always something playing at this time, which annoyed her because if sound was coming from the room it's all she can hear when she's trying to fall asleep. Thinking nothing of it however Emily said her goodbyes and waved her friends off.  
Closing the door and locking it behind them there was a sudden scream coming from Alison's room, subconsciously Emily felt her legs gear into action and sprint up the stairs.  
Slamming the door open and turning the light on Emily was half expecting an intruder but was only met with Alison curled up against the headboard of her bed, shaking. The sheet covers were in a mess and her eyes were plastered to the wardrobe.

"Alison? What's wrong?" Emily stood at the door and waited for permission to enter but the blonde remained silent. Sweat covered her forehead and her shaking didn't subside, it was worrying Emily greatly but she was too scared to move.

"Alison?" She tried again.

"There's something in the wardrobe." She whispered, terrified that if she spoke any louder that whatever she saw would emerge again.  
Emily looked between Alison and the wardrobe and raised an eyebrow. At first she was expecting the blonde to be making a joke but it was obvious by her exterior she wasn't in any joking mood.  
Moving to the wardrobe door Emily opened it and looked inside, like she had expected it was empty except for clothing and shoes, causing questions to gather quickly in her mind.

"There's nothing here, Alison." Her voice was surprisingly soothing when she shut the door and turned back to face Alison.

"I thought I saw... something. Never mind." Quickly trying recover she wiped the sweat away and caught her breath. Emily stood awkwardly in the middle of the room and waited for her brain to think of a reasonable sentence to form.

"Are you okay?" She finally managed when she noticed tears well in Alison's eyes.

"I'm fine." The blonde replied quickly as she wiped away the unforgiving tears that displayed her weaknesses.  
Emily got the impression that Alison was willing her to disappear, she was unaware however that the blonde was just highly embarrassed and still rather scared.

"I'll leave you alone then." She turned and went to leave the room but Alison's soft voice stopped her.

"Emily..." It was a whisper.

"Yeah?" She faced the blonde again and smiled sympathetically.

"Can... can you stay with me?" Alison was still shaking and she was still curled up tightly against the far edge of the bed and it only made Emily's heart a sink when she saw how terrified she seemed.  
Biting her lip and remembering the two were supposed to be ignoring each other; Emily nodded and walked over to the bed, hesitantly. Sitting down on the opposite edge she felt Alison immediately relax but remain where she was, so deciding to make herself comfortable she sat against the bed board and crossed her legs.  
Both girls looked straight ahead, too afraid to acknowledge the situation and too afraid to speak. Alison looked over her laptop that must have shut down in the night, which was unusual because she set it so it wouldn't. Looking down at the power point she realised it was off and the battery had died. Finally catching her breath she managed to get her legs to move from the bed and switch the power on, letting the laptop begin its charge and start up process.  
Sitting back on the bed she closed some distance between her and Emily as she waited for the laptop to load, while they sat in silence a thickness in the air was created as neither knew what to say first.

"Are you going to watch a movie?" Emily forced the small talk.

"It helps me sleep." Alison murmured. When the laptop was fully loaded she moved to the edge so she could log in and continue what she was watching before she fell asleep. "I like the sound and the light in the room." She justified quickly, not sure as to why she had revealed the information to Emily.

"You don't like sleeping in the dark?" Emily watched Alison carefully, the blonde stood from the bed and walked over to the door, turning the light off she moved back over and got comfortable under the sheets.

"Not usually but I can't sleep with a light on. The laptop provides just the right amount."

"Why do you need light?"

"Because I have night paralysis and I find it won't happen if there is light and sound around." Her voice was simple and matter-of-factly, like it was nothing for Emily to even think twice about. Turning over Alison huddled up and faced her laptop, too afraid to face Emily but too afraid to let her leave, or even admit that.

"What's night paralysis?"

"It's like you're awake but you can't move, usually happens between wakefulness and sleep, either when you're waking up or falling asleep. Some people experience it differently, some feel like they're chocking, others go as far as hallucinating." Alison was no longer watching the laptop but instead she focused her eyes back on the wardrobe and Emily noticed this quickly, so she closed the distance between them.

"And you had a hallucination?" Emily was whispering now, she didn't fully understand everything but she could connect the dots that lay in front of her. Alison was afraid of seeing these hallucinations and that was enough for her to lie down next to her and provide a caring hand.

"Yes." Her tone presented discomfort indicating that she was no longer in the mood for talking about it, she was scared and the last thing she wanted to do was think about it.

"I'm sorry." Emily replied, noticing her tone. Seconds later she felt Emily move away, knowing she had sounded too harsh she quickly rolled over and grabbed her hand.

"Don't go." She pleaded and Emily's hand gripped hers gently, soothingly and very comfortingly. She had felt her heart beat relax and she had somehow managed to gain enough courage to move into Emily's chest, cuddling up tightly she felt both of the brunette's arms enclose protectively around her.

"I'm right here." Emily whispered.

The next morning Alison woke up first to the sound of her laptop changing over from one movie to the next, adjusting slightly she realised Emily's arms were still securely around her, keeping her safe and warm. It was nice to wake up to but she was still surprised Emily was there.  
Realising just how close she was to the brunette she quickly jumped away and in the chaos Emily stumbled awake and stood from the bed.

"What? What's wrong?" She almost screamed while rubbing her head in surprise. Alison stood on the other side of the bed, thankful that the mattress was in between them.

"We were..." Alison mumbled shyly.

"We were what?"

"You were..."

"Yes Alison, we were cuddling." Emily sighed and sat back on the bed, holding her chest as if she had just had a heart attack. The sudden jumping from her sleep almost did give her one. "Geez, Alison we weren't naked I was just making sure you were okay."

Emily wasn't facing Alison; she was too busy trying to regulate her heart beat again but as Alison crossed her arms and thought back to the night before she didn't really understand why she was so mad.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled, feeling embarrassed for her outburst.

"It's okay; I don't think my heart can say the same however." The shared a small giggled before Emily stood from the bed again and stretched her arms.

"Well, I'll let you do your own thing."

"Emily, wait." Alison stopped her from leaving the room and grabbed her hand, turning her so they were facing each other.  
Leaning in slowly Alison placed a small kiss on her cheek, before stepping back and smiling kindly.

"Thanks for staying... with me."

"You don't need to thank me." She smiled softly before heading out of the room, standing in the door way she turned and looked at Alison, they shared a moment. It was quick and it was innocent, but as they stood there the atmosphere changed around them and though it felt tense they both shared a sweet smile before Emily closed the distance between them.  
Their lips lightly touched and it felt magical, little millions of fireflies flittering against their skin causing all their senses to be heightened. Their lips moulded together and tingled at the sensation, it was an innocent kiss but passion still danced beneath the surface, aching to breach and take over but before there was any chance Emily backed away and gave Alison a smile before heading back into her own room.

" _Tease_." Alison mumbled under her breath as she walked back into her room and took in a large breath she didn't know she was in need of.

 **Hey guys so I wanted to say thanks for the amazing reviews! I'm getting a lot of positive feedback which is awesome.  
Now about sleep paralysis, if anyone has suffered from it and I have portrayed it badly I apologise profusely (it's kind of hard that's all) but I hope it will add to a little bit of Alison character and her life before Rosewood. I hope I haven't offended anyone!**

 **Also a big shout out to ElsaFowl who has been reading my fanfics and leaving** _ **amazing**_ **reviews, may I just say (and hopefully get right)** _ **Je suis content que tu aimes ma fanfic! Merci pour la lecture, vous etes incroyable**_ **!**

 **Now my French isn't so great so I apologise if it's wrong :P**

 **Anyways guys leave a review and tell me what you thought okay?**

 **-Aemstar**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Five**_

"Okay, I'm just saying, if Spencer and Aria hooked up, we could call them Sparia!" Hanna giggled in her tipsy state.  
The girls had been drinking since about seven and hadn't eaten since lunch time when they had arrived. So after only three drinks the affects were becoming quite present.

"Aw that's cute, team Sparia!" Aria joined in the laughter and nudged Spencer playfully in the ribs. The taller brunette rolled her eyes before looking over at Emily, who didn't seem to be as affected by her consumption as the others.

"Why aren't you tipsy?" Spencer questioned, her usual reserved behaviour long gone.

"Because I have more practice." She laughed before standing and moving to the kitchen, chuckling to herself when she heard someone throw a pillow and then Spencer loudly objecting, with any guess it was probably Hanna who threw it. She did feel the small sense of tipsiness slip in but she could at least stand properly, with the occasionally wobble.

"Sounds like you guys are having fun." Alison's voice came out of nowhere but it was no surprise. Emily wasn't really sure how long she had been standing in the kitchen for but it must have been longer than the girls had been expecting.

"Emily! Be a dear and get me another drink, will you?" Hanna called from the living room.

"Okay, your highness." She called back before drawing her attention towards Alison.  
"Hey." She said shyly.

"Hi." Alison replied. There was a thickness in the air that Emily couldn't identify, she couldn't figure out if she was imaging things because of the alcohol or if there was actually tension.

"I haven't seen you since this morning." Emily comments as she thinks back to that morning where she and Alison shared a tender kiss, it made her heart flutter just thinking about it.

"I went out with a few friends, but I just got back to find out I was missing out on all the fun."

"Well it's fun to watch them; I don't usually get as bad as they do." Emily suddenly felt a need to impress Alison but she wasn't sure why.

"So you _are_ a rebel." Alison smirked playfully before closing some distance between them. Emily took a second to take in the blonde, she was wearing a long floral dress that complimented her breast and waist and dropped elegantly passed her hips to her feet. She noticed Emily's wondering eye and her smirk grew. "Something catch your eye?"  
Emily's eyes immediately darted back to Alison's, feeling embarrassed that she hadn't been very subtle at all.

"Possibly." She shied away from the blonde's dominating eyes and looked down at her hands; quickly Alison reached for them and gripped tightly.

"Emily, I never really thanked you properly for staying with me last night."

"You said thank you." She recalled from earlier that morning.

"Oh, I did too." She felt silly for forgetting but decided to brush it aside.

"Emily, what is taking you so long? I want my drink already!" Hanna called, ruining the moment completely, causing both girls to sigh in frustration before laughing at Hanna's behaviour.

"Listen Em, I know you've got to get back, I just wanted to tell you something and then I'll go upstairs and leave you guys alone."

"What is it?" Emily asked curiously when she grabbed the bottle of vodka from the bench and began mixing it in with a cup of Coke for herself and Hanna.

"I want to take things slow... between us." It was a whisper but Emily heard clearly, she didn't really know what they were but taking things slow at least cleared some of the fog in her mind. She looked at Alison curiously, it was unusual for the blonde to be so forthcoming with her feelings, and it surprised her. "Because I don't know if I like you yet."  
Alison justified quickly, realising how honest she was being.  
Emily smiled at her attempt at covering up her emotions, grabbing both the drinks she stopped in front of Alison just before returning to the living room, however still out of site of the others.

"I'll go as slow as you need." She kissed her forehead before departing.

Spencer, Hanna and Aria seemed unaware of Emily's entrance until she handed Hanna her drink, taking it gratefully she took a large gulp before burping loudly.

"Thanks Em!"

"Hanna! That's so gross!" Spencer exclaimed loudly when Emily sat back down, rolling her eyes at her friends. Aria was giggling next to Spencer on the lounge and kept talking about team Sparia.

"So what would Spencer and Emily be?" She asked curiously.

"Why am I in all the relationships here?" Spencer nudged Aria before looking at Emily.

"Am I that unappealing to be in a relationship with?" Emily interjected her tone humorous but in Spencer's drunken haze it was difficult for her to tell.

"Okay, what about _me_ and Em?" Hanna asked before Spencer could think of any further comments.

"Hanily!" Aria giggled as she downed the last of her drink. The three girls burst into laughter while Emily rolled her eyes and shook her head, catching a glimpse of Alison standing half way up the stairs looking down at her. Subtly the blonde looked away and retreated up into her room before she could make a bigger fool of herself.

"Because you don't know if you like her yet? Was that really all you could think of, Alison?" She muttered to herself as she closed the door, blocking out the loud chatter emanating from downstairs.  
Rolling her eyes at her own stupidity she turned to her laptop and began the indecisive journey of picking a movie. Eventually sticking with a comedy to keep her thoughts away from Emily, she considered a romantic movie a bad idea as it would only cloud her judgement.  
Half way through the story she was already dosing in and out of sleep, she didn't know if it was because she had a long day or if it was because the movie lacked anything peeking her interests.  
There was a small thud at the door causing her closing eyes to open suddenly.

"Yes?" She called awkwardly, unsure if it was Emily or one of the other girls, although she was almost positive it was Emily.

"I've got a bone to pick with you." Spencer burst into the room, shortly followed by Aria and Hanna. Emily filed in trying to pull them all out but no one budged. The three girls were borderline drunk but Emily still seemed fairly composed, Spencer wasn't being aggressive, she was being an intoxicated teen with all rational thinking forgotten.

"Fire away." Alison sensed that Emily thought the girl's arrival would displease her but really she just found it funny how easily the three could let go.  
Surprised with Alison's response Spencer straightened her shoulders and looked between Hanna and Aria before sharing a giggle.

"Why are you so smart?"

"Yeah! And so damn gorgeous!" Hanna interjected, her words slightly slurred. "You can't be beautiful and smart. That's not fair."

Alison looked over at Emily with raised eyebrows, the brunette's hand was slapped to her forehead out of embarrassment but apparently her three friends weren't done.

"Em, don't you agree? She's gorgeous!" Aria asked and suddenly every head was turned to Emily and she didn't like it. Alison looked at her curiously, wondering how she was going to get out of such a tight situation with her friends closely watching her.

"She is." She said confidently and all eyebrows rose in an un-choreographed unison.  
"Now you guys need to drink some water or you'll be sick all day tomorrow."

Emily pulled the girls from the room before either could object. Pushing them down stairs she looked back to find Alison leaning against the door frame, winking playfully she went back to her room and watched the rest of the movie.

At around one in the morning she could hear the four girls start to sober up, Hanna was groaning about a sore stomach while Spencer was telling her to shut up. She figured they weren't that drunk in the first place but were rather in that state of tipsiness where you are the most confident, hence the burst in earlier in the evening.  
An hour after that it was silent and she was moving onto her next movie, for some reason she couldn't sleep. Though when she looked over to her wardrobe it gave her an indicator of why her laptop was louder and brighter than usual.  
Normally it would be on the lowest possible setting for brightness while the sound was barely audible, where as for that particular evening it was at its full brightness and almost loudest volume. Her mind was playing tricks and suddenly she felt cold, she missed the protective arms of Emily wrapped securely around her, she had that security for one night and she was already missing it. The thought of Emily's arms around her again made her heart skip a beat, it was comforting to know that there was that possibility she could feel safe, even if she did need assistance.  
She needed that feeling again, the feeling of the whole world around her not existing outside the brunette's warm hold, like there was nothing bad could ever happen, even though it obviously would sometime.  
She was always negative, or as her brother liked to put it, "realistic". "Don't let anyone close and you won't get hurt." He would remind her daily, obviously still struggling with the idea of being pushed around in exchange programs, he was older now so he was out of school and working but unfortunately for Alison, that wasn't the case.  
Slowly letting her eyes close from exhaustion she let the heaviness of sleep take over and that night she kept the sound of her laptop in her mind so it couldn't be distracted.

That morning was unpleasant for Emily, not because she was feeling hung over but her friends were making it clear that they were.  
Hanna recovered the quickest out of the three but was still whining for the sake of it.

"I swear I'm never doing that again." She mumbled as she took a tiny bite of her toast.

"You say that every time, Hanna." Emily rolled her eyes as she looked up from the bacon and eggs she was making.

"Yeah, but this time, I mean it." The blonde continued while rubbing her head.

"You say _that_ every time too." Spencer chuckled as she joined Aria and Hanna on the stools at the kitchen bench as they watched the brunette cook.

"Well whatever, I just need Emily's special hang over cure."

"Hanna, it's just fatty food that helps you recover. I don't make it special in anyway." She rolled her eyes as she flipped an egg.

"Can we just pretend it's special so I'll feel better faster." Aria murmured, standing from the stool to refill her orange juice.  
All agreeing they sat in silence as their stomachs grumbled for anything but alcohol.

"Well good morning." Alison chimed while walking into the kitchen in her bathrobe, her hair was damp and had obviously just been released from the hold of a towel as it was waving freely passed her shoulders.

"Morning." Emily smiled; not being able to help but to take a quick look at the blonde who had began the process of making a coffee.

"How are you guy's feeling this morning?" Alison directed at the silent girls.

"Better than expected." Aria answered first.

"Yeah, but Em's magic hang over cure will make us all normal again." Hanna threw in, causing Alison to turn and look at Emily curiously.

"Magic hang over cure?"

"Bacon and eggs, _real_ _magical_." Emily laughed sarcastically while she dished up the food onto three separate plates.  
There was a silence that was filled with the coffee machine buzzing and a small laugh from Alison.  
Looking up curiously Emily was surprised to have all three friends watching her, their eyes darting between her and Alison. Raising her eyebrows inquisitively she handed them their food and they looked away.

"Well I hope you all feel better after a little magic." Alison smiled before leaving the kitchen and heading back to her room.  
Another silence enclosed around the kitchen and as all three heads made sure Alison was upstairs they quickly turned to Emily.

"What?" She defended quickly.

"What the hell was that?" Hanna exclaimed first.

"What the hell was what?"

"How long have you guys been doing the deed?" Spencer crossed her arms and observed Emily carefully, knowing that one single movement would give her the answer she was after.

"Doing the deed? Geez Spencer, what are you? Sixty years old?" Aria looked away from Emily and gave Spencer a sarcastic gaze.

"What do you want me to say?" She rebutted defensively.

"Why don't you just say sex?" Hanna put her hand up as if there wasn't anything to it.

"Because, _Hanna_ , I like to be respectful."

"You're asking her about her sex life, there isn't really anyway you can be respectful."

As the three bickered nonstop for about five solid minutes Emily was wondering how long they could possibly go on and how easy it was for them to get distracted. When their attention still didn't focus back to her she wondered how it would possibly seem as though her and Alison were intimate, it wasn't as though the blonde came up and gave her a large kiss on the lips before leaving the room. Her eyes wonder away upstairs and instantly her thoughts were off her friends and towards Alison, it was definitely a confusing situation that she couldn't exactly explain to her friends. How could she possibly explain something she didn't fully understand herself?

"We're getting off topic," Spencer finally shook her head and looked back to Emily. "So? How long?"

"We haven't, Spence." Emily shrugged honestly.

"Well then, what was all that?"

"I think you're seeing things." She stated honestly. Spencer, Hanna and Aria decided to eat their food while it was hot, however still keeping a close eye on the brunette who was avoiding the conversation.  
Time passed and they all seemed to forget about it rather quickly however which Emily was grateful for, she didn't know how she was going to talk to her friends about it the next time they found themselves on the topic. She wasn't even really sure why she didn't want to talk about it in the first place; she never had a problem with talking about Maya.  
Lying to her friends wasn't a game she would regularly participate in but it wasn't as though she was going out of her way to avoid telling the truth. Alison was just a difficult subject of conversation, considering the others weren't a fan of the blonde.

"If it's okay with you, I'm not sleeping on the floor tonight. I need a bed." Hanna demanded as they walked back into the living room after cleaning up from breakfast.

"That started out as a question but never really got there, Han." Emily chuckled and threw a pillow at the blonde.

"Come on, my back is _killing_ me."

"Fine." Emily mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Yay, I shotgun your bed!" She squeaked playfully.

"Yeah and I shotgun the other side of the bed." Aria objected before Spencer had a chance to interject.

"Well that hardly seems fair." She muttered while crossing her arms childishly.

"And where will I sleep?" Emily finally spoke up after losing her own bed privileges and suddenly there was a silence in which Spencer, Hanna and Aria exchanged looks before smirking in unison.  
Knowing what was coming Emily rolled her eyes and went to speak but within seconds Hanna was ready with her snide remarks, as usual.

"I know where you can sleep." They all snickered and looked between each other.

"Don't say it, Hanna." Emily warned, knowing it was inevitable. Her warning however was so stern it silenced the girls, momentarily.

"You can sleep in the _guest_ bedroom, with _Alison_." They burst out laughing so hard they were practically rolling on their sides, while Emily had an unimpressed expression it only caused further laughter.  
Ignoring her friend's immaturity she focused her attention on the television, pressing the play button to continue watching the movie from earlier that morning.  
Time passed and Hanna, Spencer and Aria became aware of how sensitive of a topic Alison could be, which really intrigued them, but they still couldn't help snickering slightly when they noticed Emily staring as Alison remerged from upstairs.

"Hey guys." She said innocently as she went to refill her coffee, she was still in her dressing gown and Emily was finding it distracting, considering they were supposed to be taking it slow. Even though she didn't know what "it" was.  
It was the last time Emily saw Alison that day; she disappeared to her room and didn't come back out. It wasn't until dinner time when she decided to go offer the blonde some food, considering she hadn't seen her eat all day.  
Knocking on the door lightly she waited for permission to enter, seconds later Alison opened it slightly and smiled when she realised it was Emily and she was alone.

"Hey you, what's going on?" She opened the door more, granting Emily more access.

"I just wanted to know if you were hungry."

"Is that the only reason you came up here?" She smiled, a hint of seduction hidden in her pearly white teeth.

"It was the excuse I told the girls." Emily chuckled as she entered the room. "I'm worried about you though, I haven't seen you eat since yesterday."

They stood in silence for a minute as Alison rethought through her meals; she hadn't meant to skip so many she just didn't want to interrupt the girls anymore than she had too.

"I forget sometimes, but I felt rude interrupting so I didn't want to leave my room."

"They kept teasing me about you." Emily pointed out.

"I could hear." Her smile was innocent this time, but she couldn't help feeling the tension rise within the room. It was difficult to think clearly when Emily was around, she was so distracting. "Why don't we give them something for them to tease you about?"

Alison closed the distance between them and moved her arms securely around Emily's neck, pulling her close they gently locked lips and let passion flow through them.  
Emily felt her heart skip a beat as the blonde took control and she couldn't help wrap her arms just as securely around her waist.  
It was a moment of uncontrolled desire as Alison pulled Emily towards the bed, lying down she pulled the brunette with her and enjoyed the body heat she provided.  
Subconsciously she let her leg lift against Emily's side and felt her hand greet it happily, pulling it further into her body causing her lose pyjama shorts to slip down slightly.

"What happened to going slow?" Emily questioned breathlessly through kissing.

"I'll kiss you slowly."

Emily chuckled before regrettably lifting up from the panting Alison, both were short of breath and disappointed at the loss of contact but with great control she manage to pull herself away and bring the blonde with her.

"Slow." She whispered.

"Slow." Alison agreed before moving into Emily's neck, receiving a tight and comforting hug in return. She kept her hands close to the brunette's chest and felt her heart beat gently against her, it was a sweet moment.

"I'd better get back, there's some dinner in the kitchen. You'll just need to heat it up."

"Thanks." She kissed Emily on the cheek before she departed.

Half an hour later she had eaten her dinner and she was back in her bedroom, the girls seemed pretty tired and didn't make much conversation when she was downstairs but she figured it was because they were constantly questioning Emily about the two of them.  
She heard them move into Emily's room and make themselves comfortable watching another movie, she overheard Hanna complaining about helping move a mattress for Emily and Spencer to sleep on but when the task was done the rest of the evening was quiet.  
At around midnight she could no longer hear chatter and figured they had fallen asleep, and with the chatter and the occasional laughter finally gone she could let herself sleep.  
It wasn't until almost another hour passing however that she realised her mind was playing tricks again, every so often she thought she could hear random noises. Trying to focus on other things it was becoming near impossible to drown out the noises she wasn't sure were real or not.  
Sitting up against the bed frame she reached over and switched the lamp on while grabbing her phone.  
Searching for Emily's name in her messages she wasn't sure what she was doing.

 _Are you awake?_

It was all she sent but she was certain Emily was asleep and wouldn't reply until morning. Leaning back into the bed frame she sighed and looked over at the wardrobe, she knew there was nothing there it was just her night paralysis playing with her mind.  
The sudden buzzing of her phone interrupted her thoughts, looking down she was surprised to see a message from Emily pop up on the screen.

 _Yeah, why?_

 _I can't sleep_

She replied quickly but when there was no reply from Emily she felt silly, she wasn't really sure why but she did.  
Moments later there was a soft knock at the door and Emily entered quietly before shutting it again.

"Are you okay?" She asked genuinely, remaining at her position by the door.

"Yeah, I just..." She couldn't bring herself to tell the truth but she found that she didn't want to lie, not when Emily was looking so sympathetically towards her.

"It's okay." She understood without Alison needing to explain, the blonde looked exhausted and if she was struggling to sleep than there was obviously something more than she was telling. Not wanting to push the subject she merely smiled and sat at the edge of the bed, her hand falling lightly on top of Alison's, providing comfort when it was definitely needed.

"Will you sit with me?"

"Of course." Emily made herself comfortable next to Alison while keeping their hands lightly together and looked over to the laptop screen. After ten minutes of silence and craning her neck from the awkward position Emily found her eyes wondering elsewhere.  
Looking down at Alison, she noticed she was tucked tightly in the warm duvet and had a pillow on either side of her. While the pillow was keeping both hers and Alison's arm comfortably supported, she was displeased that the soft barrier was keeping so much distance between them.  
When Alison turned her head she was surprised to have Emily's eyes on their hands.

"Is this a boring movie?" She asked quietly however not quite sure as to why she was being so soft, it wasn't as though anyone else could hear them.

"No, not at all. It was just hurting my neck."

Without another word Alison turned and picked her laptop up and placed it between the two of them. They shared a sweet smile before focusing their attention back to the screen; Emily's thoughts however were stuck on Alison's hand that lay so lightly beneath her own. The second time she noticed Emily's wondering gaze she lay her head gently against the brunette's shoulder and let their fingers gently intertwine.  
Sighing contently she was sure she could fall asleep like this but when the credits to the movie began rolling through it made Emily shift in her spot, looking up curiously she was surprisingly met with the tired chocolate brown orbs staring confidently at her.

"How are you feeling?" She observed Alison closely but didn't expect the blonde to be so awake.

"A little better, do you want to sleep?"

There was a silence that gave Alison the answer Emily was too shy to give, smiling she lay her laptop back on the bedside table and turned off the lamp. As the next movie began she shifted her body down the bed and patted the space next to her.

"Are you sure?" She questioned hesitantly, remembering Alison's reaction the last time they were in close contact.

"Positive." She removed the pillow that separated them and grabbed Emily's hand, pulling her down at the bed before turning away from her and facing the laptop. She felt that being in such a close vicinity of the brunette she wouldn't be able to control herself, so facing away was the only option she felt she had.  
More time passed and Alison felt her need for contact with Emily grow, she felt like there was a great distance between them that she needed to fill. Not turning around she let her hand search for Emily's, when successful she stretched it around her waist and sighed at the contact.  
Emily lay completely still as she felt Alison's hands guide her own. With her arm so stretched her only choice was to move closer in order to be comfortable. As the distance between them lessened she felt the warmth of Alison's body against her chest as she protectively spooned her, it was nice and it was a moment she knew she wouldn't forget.  
With their hands still connected Alison felt her desire for more grow, so slowly but still confidently she began guiding Emily's hand underneath her shirt, sighing contently again at the skin to skin contact.  
Emily's heart stopped when Alison took control, she wasn't sure what it meant but she couldn't help allowing the situation to unfold beneath her. Alison's hand guided her own lightly around her stomach and waist, every so often teasing her fingers with the temptation of a journey up to her chest only to be stopped just before the lining of her bra.  
She could hear Alison's deep breathing and realised her own was the same, with each inhale a further sense of deep passion would fill her lungs, only making the delicate task of touching only where Alison guided incredibly difficult. The combination of warm and soft skin was beyond the temptation Emily felt she could control herself but with resistance she managed to continue.  
Alison continued guiding for a good percentage of the movie before she realised what she was actually doing, she realised this was probably not the slowest way she could go about things but it was difficult because she craved Emily's touch so much. She could feel the brunette beside her, her breath against her ear as she tried desperately hard to control herself and the warmth and comfort she had needed for so long.

"Ali..." Emily began, her hand stopping suddenly at the line of the blonde's shorts.

"Please, don't stop." She begged, knowing that it was inevitable that Emily was going to end the journey her hands were venturing.

"I can't stop." She whispered, her response was unexpected and it surprised Alison greatly but as she turned to face the brunette she realised just how much she was enjoying it too. Her eyes were a darker brown, full of lust and passion but also longing, leaning backwards Alison moved further into Emily's touch and abandoned the brunette's hand and replaced it with the back of her neck. Pulling each other close their lips lightly touched and the atmosphere changed around them, it was heated like a wild fire, hard to control and even harder to contain.  
Breaths growing short and fast, Alison felt herself completely turn to face Emily before wrapping her arms securely around the brunette's neck while her hands stayed firmly on her waist, teasingly playing with the freed skin.  
They kissed for a long time and yet time seemed to fly. They remained under enough control to not make more movement that would cause further action, though it was clearly what they both wanted, they knew it was not the "slow" way of taking things.  
After Alison's grip tightened around Emily's neck however, it gave her incentive to take some additional control and slip her tongue passed the blonde's lips, granting access for her to do the same.

"Emily..." She moaned subconsciously.

"We... need to..." The brunette tried replying through each kiss.

"I... know..." She interjected, not wanting Emily to voice the idea of actually stopping. Slowly breaking away Emily moved her hand to Alison's cheek.

"I don't want too." She said clearly. "But you said slow, so slow is what I will do."

Emily smiled genuinely before kissing her on the forehead, cuddling up against her chest Alison instantly felt her eyes close from exhaustion, she didn't realise how tired she actually was but it seemed she had been staying up too late an awful lot. However with Emily by her side she felt she would sleep comfortably.

"I can do slow." Alison finally agreed, before turning back over and pulling Emily's hand with her.

"Just in case you're still not sure of your feelings." She half yawned and chuckled while holding steadily onto Alison.  
For a long moment Alison lay into her hold and processed her words, it was true she had said that she wasn't sure but only to cover up surfacing feelings. She didn't want to present herself to that kind of heart ache, considering she was going to be graduating in five months and heading back to California to live with her brother. It was an inevitable heart break but as she lay there, so contently with Emily's arms wrapped around her, she knew she it was going to be difficult but she also knew her feelings couldn't be denied for much longer.

"I am certain of my feelings for you." She whispered but when Emily didn't reply she was sure the brunette had fallen asleep, making her reveal something she could rethink just in case she wasn't ready.

 _ **Hey guys, I hope you all liked this chapter. I was very keen to write this and since everyone has been asking for some slow burn Emison, slow burn is what I'll do :P  
Reviews are greatly appreciated, it really helps me write!  
Thanks so much for reading everyone :)**_

 _ **-Aemstar**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six**_

Wednesday.  
It was like any other day really.  
Except it wasn't.  
It was a deal breaker, an intermission to the week.  
The middle of the work or school week.  
Half way through the torture before the weekend.  
Or in some peoples cases there was no weekend, only days of the week in which you lived and worked when available.  
Which ever way a person would put it, that Wednesday was still like any other Wednesday.  
To Emily however it was the Wednesday after the weekend in which she and Alison had unofficially decided that they were... unofficial.  
Though it was decided that they would take " _it"_ slow Emily was still on the fence as to what "it" actually was. So really, that Wednesday in particular was marking the half way point in which the following weekend would provide a chance for her to be with Alison, alone, so they could discuss it.  
It was half way through the week which meant she only had two more days of school before it could be just her and Alison. Though of course her parents would be lingering around the house since they were definitely back from the anniversary get away, it would still be easier avoiding them than trying to avoid Spencer, Hanna and Aria like last weekend.  
Sunday was impossible.  
She and Alison had fallen asleep in each other's hold but in the morning there was no staying to enjoy the moment as Spencer, Hanna and Aria decided, for the first time ever, to get up early. To go shopping of all things, not that Emily minded, it was more she once again missed the chance to talk with Alison.  
She wanted to ask her about what she thought she heard the blonde say when they were falling asleep, as she wasn't too sure if she was imaging things from exhaustion or if it was actually what she heard.  
Emily had been pondering this thought for the first half of the week and decided that she would ask Alison the moment they were alone, she didn't care if it was the weekend or not. Alone was all she needed.

"So what aren't you telling me?" Sam said half way through Emily's shift as she threw out the take away coffee cup she had been sipping at nonstop for almost half an hour. The out of nowhere question had interrupted every thought Emily had managed to sort clearly in her mind for the first time that week, jumbling them into a million pieces again.

"What?" Emily stumbled as she threw away some extra wrapping from a pair of shoes she had just sold a customer less than two minutes earlier.

"You aren't telling me something and I've been waiting about two weeks for you to tell me. I'm sick of waiting, now what is it? Did something happen with Maya? You never told about your 'not date' and I've been going a little crazy that you haven't told me a thing!"  
She flicked her long dark hair that flew freely passed her shoulder before crossing her arms and leaning against the counter in front of Emily. Her piercing dark eyes didn't leave Emily's and she was sure Sam could get anything she wanted if she stared hard enough.

"You know if looks could kill, I'd be dead."

"Spill, Fields." She commanded, ignoring all the jobs that needed to be done around the quiet store and considering it had been crazy busy all afternoon Emily was shocked to see Sam not taking advantage of the emptiness. " _So_ did something happen with Maya?" She repeated, thinking it might encourage the brunette to talk.  
She stood awkwardly behind the counter as she thought through her options, it had been less than a week since her and Alison had fallen asleep in each other's arms and it was driving her crazy because it felt like it had been forever, so the topic of Maya hadn't really crossed her mind since she had last seen her out of school.

"No exactly." She mumbled innocently.

"Did... something happen with Alison?" A single eyebrow rose curiously and intrusively as Sam observed the shy Emily.  
There was definitely something she wasn't revealing.  
Emily's eyes shifted uncomfortably as Sam's invasive mind got the answer she was after. Enjoying probably a little too much how the brunette reacted she crossed her arms before smirking.

"What happened?"

"I don't even know where to start."

"Well do you maybe care to explain what happened with Maya?" Sam finally found some other simple jobs that didn't require too much brain power so she could focus more on her conversation with Emily.

"She's just an open relationship kind of person, I wasn't aware of that and she doesn't like being tied down. So it ended, but at least it was a fairly positive outcome. She doesn't hate me for wanting more out of a relationship."

"Well..." Sam began, smiling softly. "That's very mature of you."

"She wasn't happy at first because she wasn't the one to tell me."

"Let me guess, _Trouble_ had something to do with it?"

"Trouble?" This time it was Emily's turn to raise a single eyebrow.

"Yes, Trouble. That's what I'm going to call Alison from now on, anyways you're getting distracted. What happened?"

"On our 'not date night', we were watching a movie and Alison kind of... interrupted."

Sam did her usual twitch of her eyebrow, it usually happened when something awkward or completely unexpected happened, or whenever a situation needed her ironic and sarcastic expression that would general comply with a quirked eyebrow.

"Interrupted how?"

"She told me about how she heard Maya was seeing other people, in front of her, not bothering to be discrete or subtle. Obviously it didn't stick with either of us but eventually Maya left and it just me and Alison."

"You and Alison, hey?" Sam snicked and when Emily looked up she wasn't surprised to have her wiggling her eyebrows childishly.

"I actually yelled at her, if you must know."

" _Yeah_ and then I bet she kissed you in a heated mess of passionate confusion and angst because she's actually been crushing on you this whole time. And it's taken you two weeks to tell me because she's been pretending it didn't happen since then."

Emily paused at how closely accurate Sam was, it was an almost identical foretelling with only a minor detail missed for the ending.

"Sort of."

"What did I miss?" Sam seemed surprised that she was wrong considering usually she was always right. When Emily remained silent while awkwardly shifting her eyes it caused her curiosity to bloom. "Oh, my, god! You guys did more than kiss?"

"No!" Emily defended quickly. "Geez."

"Okay, so what did I miss?"

"We... she... I don't know. We're taking it slow." She was unsure of how to explain the situation because she really didn't know where to begin. It was confusing enough but at least maybe Sam could provide some advice.

"Slow? You've only got five months with her, how slow can you take it?"

Emily paused, considering everything that had been going on between her and Alison not once had she ever thought about the blonde returning home at the end of the school year.

"Well wouldn't it be more obvious to take it slow, so that way no one is getting hurt."'

"I suppose but personally I like to live in the moment, what if you never see her again? California is a long way from here."

"You're only proving my point more."

"Whatever, _my_ point is that why don't you just go for it?" Sam stated before a customer walked in, giving Emily a supportive smile she went to serve the woman while leaving the brunette to stand awkwardly with her many thoughts circling her mind.  
Would it be so bad, to give it a go?  
To see where things went with Alison?  
Obviously Sam's statement was based solely around the physical side of the possible relationship but the more Emily got to know Alison, the more she wanted to get to know her and connect with her on an emotionally level.  
She may have been a pain at the beginning but she was different now.  
The last couple of hours of her shift went fairly quickly when a wave of customers flew through again.

"I'll see you Saturday then?" Emily commented as she and Sam closed the shop.

"Yep, I only need you for the morning so you're free after twelve."

They said their goodbyes before separating.  
For some reason Sam had given Emily enough confidence to drive home and make her way directly to Alison's room, giving her parent's a swift hello before disappearing straight upstairs.  
Knocking on the door she could hear soft music playing lightly in the background, she heard Alison stand and walk to the door, and then suddenly she had no idea what she was doing but it was too late to turn back when the door slowly creped opened.

"Hey." Alison's lips lifted into a chaste smile when she saw Emily standing on the other side, looking a mixture of stunned and determined.

"Hi."

"Want to come in?" She seemed wary at first but quickly covered it.

"Sure." Alison opened the door and allowed her to pass; looking at the bed she saw notes and papers covering the whole surface. "What are you doing?"

"It's for the exchange program; I have to send them a copy of my assignments and stuff, so they know I'm... improving."

"Improving?"

"Well actually I think they'll be happy with me attending classes, but really they just think I'm stupid."

"I heard you were really smart." Emily pointed out as she recalled a conversation earlier in the week with Spencer.

"I suppose it would've helped if I actually _went_ to my classes at my old school, then I guess they wouldn't have had a reason to ship me off here."

"So all this... is your work?" Emily looked over the bed curiously, however stopping herself when she realised how intrusively rude she was being.

"Mostly, some of it is... other information." Alison looked over at a particular selection of papers that sat up near her pillow, having the most protection at the highest point of the bed.

"Other information?" She couldn't help but push, the blonde was acting so strange and it only peeked her curiosity

"My social worker would say it's my case file but I wouldn't say it's that interesting."

"Why do you have your own case file?"

"Well I'm allowed to have any information that's about me but the reason I actually have a copy is because it's required for the exchange program."

There was a silence in which Emily shift between each foot, when looking she could clearly see Alison's name written at the top of the papers but again stopped herself when she realised it wasn't her place to be reading anything at all.

"Sorry." She murmured when she looked over at Alison and realised the blonde was looking at her, her eyes soft and her smile warm.

"Don't be, I don't mind." Turning to the bed she began gathering the papers while stretching her hands widely across the surface area and lazily pushing them together, leaving the case file on the pillow. Placing them on the desk she then moved to pick up the case file, this time gathering them in a nice pile before holding them in front of the quiet Emily.

"Read them." Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, displaying a shyness Emily wasn't used to, mainly because it was odd behaviour for Alison.

"Ali..."

"Read. At least that way someone beside my case worker will know the real me." She handed Emily the papers before she could refuse, sitting down on the bed she crossed her legs and gazed innocently at the still quiet brunette.  
Finally, Emily decided that this was Alison way of opening up and she wasn't about to refuse such an occasion. Smiling she moved to sit next to the blonde who was still watching her with a chaste smile, making herself comfortable on the bed she felt Alison's head fall delicately on her shoulder while her hand went to her thigh, playing with the fabric of her jeans slowly.

 **CASE NO. 24206 – ALISON LAUREN DILAURENTIS**

 **Date: 17** **th** **of June, 2014**

 **In agreements with the** _ **Children's Protection Act (1999 section 51A-YB).  
**_ **Case file logged by Dr. Rhiannon Tucker, Social Worker and Children's Behaviour Specialist.**

 _ **This case plan will provide a clear statement to why the child in question (Alison DiLaurentis) is in need of protection, this case plan will provide the structure for an ongoing intervention and investigation that will occur with the child and their family.**_

 _ **The child in question was referred by an Education professional in accordance to suspected violence in home.  
Follow up from parents was filed and appropriate information gathered of child and family.**_

 **Father – Kenneth DiLaurentis; abusive and consider dangerous for the wellbeing of both the child in question and her brother (refer to in case file #24205)**

 **Mother – Jessica DiLaurentis; known for alcohol and drug abuse problems, dangerous for the wellbeing of child in question**

 **Sibling – Jason DiLaurentis; showed no clear signs of difficulties in behaviour or danger to his parents or younger sibling**

 **Child in question –Alison DiLaurentis; known for depression and anxiety, show clear signs of danger to herself but no clear signs of danger to others.  
Further clarification was needed by professional to confirm. ***

 _ ***Turnover for professional psychologist report.**_

Emily didn't turn the page for a long time but it was clear she had finished reading because she was no longer looking at the paper. She was staring ahead but then her eyes averted to Alison when she realised how hard it was to let her read something so personally informative.

"Danger to herself?" She quoted cautiously before looking down at the quiet Alison.

"Keep reading." Alison commanded, her voice strong but somehow soft at the same time.

Turning over Emily was wary about what she was going to be unravelling but she was sure if Alison was so comfortable with her reading something so personal it would be okay. That was her thought process anyway; however with the blonde looking at her now it was difficult to tell if she was confident or if she was scared.

 _ **Psychologist report**_

 _ **Note's taken on first encounter with child in question:**_ **  
** _  
_ _-Clear pre-adolescent trauma from parental neglect and mistreatment  
-Obvious present abuse  
-Possible eating troubles/disorders  
-Parents have money problems and mother has known drug and alcohol abuse problems  
-Clear struggles with self worth (due to parental abuse)  
-Likes to be alone  
-Has a passion for music (piano specifically) – note, she likes to think of music when in distress  
-Watches movies when falling asleep – this could be connected with the trauma based around family  
-Family in general is a sensitive topic except for her brother 'Jason' as they seem to get along well_

 _Overall conclusion:_

 _Alison seems disconnected and uncontrolled; her behaviour when talking displayed discomfort in authority figure.  
She shows signs of dressing well and seems clear and present respectfully, however I find this to be a personality conflict, while those who are suffering from depression and anxiety due to trauma usually dressed messy and don't seem clean and not well kept – I believe that this is Alison's way of being exactly that.  
In terms of personality I sense at a young age she may have been "tom boyish" but has then changed drastically in order to keep up appearances in front of her family.  
With the struggle of her parent's problems, money etc, I believe Alison has been exposed to a toxic environment and her mental health has taken a toll because of that. Professionally speaking she is a bright young woman that is struggling with something someone her age shouldn't be dealing with, but there are also issues that one cannot identify in one session and it was be sensible to have her follow up._

 **Children's Social Worker requested***

Emily reread the second page, it was intense and hard to grasp considering Alison seemed to not show any signs of what this psychologist was pointing out but when she placed the paper on her lap Alison looked up from her hand that had still been playing with her jeans.

"So this all happened a year ago?" She forced, trying to make sense of everything seemed so difficult, and no wonder Alison was so closed off from everything and everyone.

"It started being acknowledging it a year ago, yeah."

"How long have you felt this way?"

"That's a difficult question to answer." Alison's hand moved from Emily's jeans to her hand, smoothing the skin lightly with her thumb as she tried to figure out whether the brunette was mad or not, she seemed so distant it was hard to tell what she was feeling.

"They make it sound so...neutral, like you're just a number, not a person." Emily pushed the paper aside, looking at it like it was personally insulting Alison for feeling her own emotions, like it was wrong for her to feel that.

"You get used to it." Alison mumbled, her hand stopping its motion on Emily's.

"You're more to me than just a number, Ali." Her hand jumped to Alison's cheek; as if she was a second late she would never be able to hold the blonde again. Lifting her head Alison looked deep in Emily's eyes and searched for an emotion, searched for anything that would give away that small hint the brunette was going turn on her or that she was going to yell or worse, leave, because she didn't think being with Alison would be worth it.

"To them, I am."

"It's their job, make sure you're in a safe home and move onto the next person but Alison to me you're one of a kind, okay? I'm not going anywhere and there's no way I'm going to treat you like your parents did."

Alison smiled, her eyes even water slightly but within seconds her body reacted with Emily's, feeling an electrical pull she had only ever felt with the brunette.

"Em..." She began but she couldn't find any words leaving her lips but Emily patiently waited for a long time before deciding to help.

"Did you say what I think you said, the other night?"

"You heard?" Nodding slightly Emily stretched her lips into a soft, comforting smile while lightly soothing her thumb against Alison's cheek, making her own smile grow. Subconsciously leaning in she knew she was only inches away from the brunette's sweet lips, hovering for what seemed like an eternity they almost closed the distance when they suddenly heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Emily?" Pam called, curious as to why her daughter had disappeared so quickly earlier.

"Yeah, Mum?" She cleared her throat before standing from the bed and leaning out of the room, surprised to find her mother's shocked expression glaring back at her when she didn't find her daughter in her room but instead in Alison's.

"Oh..." She stuttered, looking between Emily and Alison when the blonde also poked her head out of the room, smiling her usual trademark smile that made everyone quiver under its power. "I just want to know if you wanted your dinner."

"I'll come down now and eat; Alison was just helping me with a homework question."

"Oh okay then," She smiled, "I'll go heat it up for the both of you then."

"Miss Field's that's okay, I'm not that hungry." Alison muttered before Pam turned to head downstairs.

"Heat some extra up anyways, I'm feeling hungry." Emily interjected before Pam could speak, turning she chuckled to herself before heading back down the stairs.

"So why did you come up here in such a determined rush anyways?" Alison asked when Pam was out of sight.

"I was going to ask you if what I heard the other night was what you actually said or if I was dreaming, I'm glad I got an answer." She turned and leant against the door frame while crossing her arms smoothly.  
Alison blushed at her boldness but didn't shy away for long, instead she gain some confidence and reached up to give her a small kiss on the cheek.

"Go get your dinner." Before turning back into her room she gave Emily a quick wink.

Chuckling slightly Emily headed down the stairs while trying not to look back, having a gut feeling that though Alison had gone back into her room she may have snuck back to look at her departing.

"Here, Em." Pam handed Emily a full plate of food while Wayne looked up from his newspaper and raised his eyebrows in mild shock.

"Feeling a little hungry, Emmy?" He shook the paper in an attempt to straighten out the slacking item before looking back to the story he was reading.

"Long day at school." She stated matter-of-factly whilst subtly grabbing two forks from the top draw, Pam noticed but only because she was moving so quickly, however deciding not to question why her daughter was acting so strange she instead smiled and offered Wayne to join her outside to watch the sunset, as they always did.  
Heading back upstairs with a plate full of food and one fork shoved subtly up the sleeve of her jacket Emily knocked on the door before allowing herself to re-enter Alison's room.

"That was a quick meal." She joked playfully, looking up from her case file that sat in front of her on the bed.

"I wanted to share with you." She said shyly, unsure as to why she suddenly felt timid in front of the blonde. Sitting beside her on the bed she placed the plate of spaghetti in front of them before holding up one of the forks.

"With one fork?" Alison giggled, quickly responding Emily swiftly slipped the spare fork that she had been hiding up her sleeve and smiled cheekily to the blonde. "Well, that was smooth."  
They shared a small laugh before Alison looked away.

"Just eat one meatball, I swear I won't be weird and pull that Lady and The Tramp move that everyone does." Her tone was innocent and sweet, and highly appealing to Alison. "Come on, you can't resist my mum's spaghetti, it's the best."

"Okay." Alison hummed, feeling thankful that Emily was actually taking time to pay attention to her own thoughts and emotions. Sitting cross-legged and opposite each other on the bed Emily reached for the plate and placed it between them, deciding to take the first bite to encourage the blonde. Slurping up a piece of spaghetti she widened her teeth into a dorky smile before grabbing Alison's fork and wrapping a serving for her.

"This doesn't count as the Lady and the Tramp move." She justified quickly when Alison's eye brow rose ironically. Shrugging and smiling in unison she opened her mouth and took a decent bite, covering her mouth however in embarrassment when she thought she was being too loud and sloppy.

"Okay, that's all I was after; I won't make you eat anymore if you don't want too." Emily noticed her attempt at covering up but decided the only thing that would help the situation was to instead be comforting and supportive, which is exactly what she did.  
When she continued to eat she watched Alison flick back and forth between her case file, the soft hum of a television series buzzed in the background providing a sense of comfort that the blonde was used to.

"Why did they make you do the exchange program?" She questioned after taking another bite from her food.

"It's a new thing, an experiment I would call it. It's basically trying to introduce me into a new and friendly environment."

"Couldn't foster care do that?"

"I suppose, but I'm almost eighteen so there would be no point. So instead moving me cross country to a different family for six months seemed more ideal then trying to find a home that wanted to accept me as their own child." Alison placed the paper work down and gave Emily her full attention, while somewhat enjoying watching the brunette eat so comfortably and freely.

"And you didn't want to come?"

"Not really, but I guess I didn't know the difference between a healthy family and a not so healthy family."

They sat in silence for a moment while Emily swallowed not only her food but also Alison's words; it was very insightful of her to be so open and honest when really she didn't owe Emily anything.

"Are you happy here?" She was worried the answer may not have been what she was looking for but when Alison looked down at the spare fork that lay lifelessly on the plate and picked it up, taking some food with it, smiling freely before eating, it show that indeed the blonde could feel a sense of happiness. Even if it was momentarily.

"I think for the first time in a long time, I am."

They shared a moment, it was silent, innocent and comforting. It was the mixture of perfect emotions that played well together before moving onto something more intense. The intensity of situation made the innocence evaporate, and quickly. While they both ate quietly it was obvious neither wanted to look away but with much control both somehow manage to not once make eye contact with the other.  
When the plate was empty after Alison helped finish it Emily stood and placed it on the desk before moving back to the same spot.

"You are an interesting individual, Emily Fields." Alison murmured quietly.

"Me? I think you're too kind."

"Really, Em, you are definitely the most interesting person I have ever had the luxury to meet. You're kind, sweet, and beautiful and your heart is the biggest."

Emily felt her cheeks redden before Alison's hand greeted her own in contact; it was surprising how warm a person could be when the connection between two bodies ignited the air.

"Alison, you haven't been around enough good people to know that the world isn't full of just bad ones."

"Perhaps, but all I know is that I was meant to meet you." They leant in slowly, making the distance between them close in an extended amount of time so when the time came for their lips to touch sparks flew and fireworks erupted deep within their stomachs. Pulling away suddenly Alison placed her hand between them as she tried to gather her thoughts, Emily waited patiently while trying to mask the fact that she was disappointed with the disconnection.

"I don't know if I can fully feel anything, Emily. Not just for you, for anyone. I have spent my whole life hiding everything I feel. Now feeling anything at all is terrifying, I hide it or repress it. What I feel for you scares me." She took a deep breath before finally making eye contact with the quiet brunette, who had a sympathetic smile. Her hands quickly reached for the blonde's soft cheeks, holding tightly making it known that she wasn't letting go.

"You were deprived of something everyone deserves to experience, Ali." She was quiet; listening to Emily's soft voice soothed every shattered and damaged piece of her. Every emotional baggage that lay so helplessly in her past didn't seem to matter as the brunette pressed their foreheads together, in fact everything negative thought seemed to vanish and there was no longer anything to fear. It was a beautiful moment and the only thing that filled the silence, besides the sound of the laptop, was their light breathing that increased when Alison's hands mirrored Emily's, however detouring via her neck and tangling into her hair after only seconds on her cheek.

"You deserve to feel every emotion, not just the bad ones."

"Bad is all I know."

"Then I'll help you with learning the good." Their breathing was short, rapid and irregular. They were stuck in between the state of trying to remain control and the state of wanting to lose control; it was a dangerous divider that separated the two. One move to the wrong side and everything would lose its control, and that was the side the two kept daring to dance on as the temptation between them grew.

"Okay." She seemed content and it was exactly what Emily needed to see, considering after everything she read in the case file, it would take some getting used to but she knew it was just who Alison was, it didn't define her it was just a part of her.

"Can I ask questions about your case file?"

"Of course." She sat back against her bed frame and indicated Emily should copy. After making herself comfortable Alison snuggled into her side and held her hands.

"Your dad, he was abusive?"

"Yes."

"Abusive how?" She encouraged, already sensing Alison's discomfort with the topic.

"Usually physical but it's surprising how much his words could hurt."

"And your mum?" Emily decided it was best not to push too much into detail yet as it was quite obvious the blonde was already struggling with one question.

"Mostly alcohol but when they say drugs they mean hardcore painkillers and sleeping tablets, I think she did it to forget about dad."

There was a silence but it wasn't uncomfortable, nor was it awkward, it just consisted of their hands lightly playing together, creating an innocent atmosphere they both could enjoy while Emily thought through everything. She didn't know whether or not to continue with questions, she may have been curious but not curious enough to upset Alison.

"Keep talking." The blonde whispered, her eyes looking straight ahead but moments later she felt a supportive arm wrap around her shoulders that pulled her close to Emily. Lying against her chest she could hear her steady heart beat, keeping a constant soothing rhythm.

"Your brother, Jason?"

"He's amazing, smart, and funny but he was free from my parents last year so he moved out, he wanted to take me with him but they wouldn't allow that. So instead my school and social worker thought it would be good to send me here, considering my parents didn't have much choice."

"What does Jason do?"

"He's in college now, studying education I think."

"So he wants to be a teacher?" She nodded against Emily's warm chest before lifting her hand to the free skin above her shirt, playing with the lining of the fabric and then moving to the collarbone.

"Ali..." She began, suddenly lost for words. "Are you... a danger to yourself?"

"They think I am." She nodded over to the papers that she had placed at the end of the bed earlier.

"I'm asking you what you think." Emily leant her head against Alison's and kissed her gently, hoping that the small motion would encourage the blonde to continue.

"I'm not in control sometimes and I don't cope well."

"And that's okay," She justified sympathetically. "Control isn't something easily grasped."

"Do you lose control?" Alison's voice was soft and timid, considering she saw Emily as the strong one.

"Yes, I do, especially around you." They chuckled together before enjoying a brief moment of silence.

"I love your laugh, Ali." She began. "I wish I could hear it all the time."

Lifting Alison's chin to face her Emily smiled kindly before connecting their lips lightly, it was a comforting expression of emotion that Alison greeted happily, her hands reacted positively by moving up behind her neck and tangling her finger tips into the brunette's soft hair.

"I never laughed this much, you always making me smile."

"Smiling is good." They kissed again before falling into silence, enjoying each other's company while watching the laptop that had been playing so innocently in the background the whole time.  
Emily didn't know if she had been the reason Alison was smiling or if it was the new environment she was now exposed to but either way she was happy that for once, the blonde could be happy too.

 **Hey guys, this was just a simple chapter but it was fun to write. Hope everyone enjoyed, let me know what you think. Also if there is any suggestions you guys would like to push forward I'm more than happy to hear! Leave a review or send me a message.  
Thanks everyone **

**-Aemstar**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter Seven**_

Her earphones spilt out loud music, blocking out the even louder outside cheering that was erupting throughout the indoor swimming pool arena. Emily was bopping up and down as the beat kept her adrenaline in line and in control until the right moment in which she would let it fly loose and drive her body for a hopeful swim meet win.  
She was the anchor, the last to swim because she was the fastest and as she watched the second swimmer go she knew she still had a few minutes to completely hype herself into action.  
She looked around to find her friends; Hanna was squealing loudly while Spencer and Aria gave her funny looks before turning to Emily and waving.  
Hanna could clearly be heard over everybody, which made Emily smile before looking around at the rest of the crowd, Pam was sitting a little further in the stands and she quickly waved when she noticed Emily's wondering eye. Smiling she waved before looking around again, she thought she could see Maya sitting with some of the football players that were either there watching for fun or watching the other girls on the team, the group wasn't far from Hanna, Spencer and Aria.  
When the two made eye contact they awkwardly nodded before looking away quickly.  
Emily noticed the third person getting ready for her jump and she realised she was next, so continuing to move up and down to the beat she elegantly took her jacket off and threw it behind her.  
Looking over the crowd again she saw a lock of bright blonde hair that caused a moment of distraction, looking back she saw Alison walking up the stands and towards her friends, Hanna even waved her over which she would've found odd if she wasn't so focused on what was happening in front of her.  
Getting ready to dive she stretched out her arms before bending into position, quickly looking over at Alison once more the blonde flashed her a quick wink causing a smile to slip controllably from her lips and it was like everything was in slow motion as she looked away and prepared her body to leap into the pool.

"Go Emily!" Hanna screamed loudly as the brunette readied herself.

"Thanks for letting me sit with you guys." Alison commented to the three girls.

"No problem, you should see Emily swim! She's amazing!" Aria half screamed over the crowd.

"Her team is a little behind." Alison looked at the people in the pool and tried to count how far exactly they were behind but it was moving too quickly.

"She'll catch up no problem. They're going to win." Spencer said confidently and as the four of them looked back over to Emily who was seconds away from her turn.  
Alison watched, carefully, her eyes losing control when she realised Emily's head turn slightly, her goggles blocking any chance of the blonde figuring out if she was looking at her or not but when another small smile twitched in the corner of her lips she knew she was the reason.  
Alison's eyes moved from Emily's goggles to her body, her muscles were clear even from the distance and the one piece swimsuit that covered her, she admired every inch that she could lay her eyes on, only to quickly shake her brain back into gear when she realised how ridiculous she probably looked.

"Hey Maya, didn't you hook up with that one?" Alison heard a tall boy a few rows down yell to the girl next to him, she assumed it was Maya.  
Alison tried to ignore the pair when she saw Emily leap into the pool, her body moving fast and with controlled. Within seconds her thoughts were off Maya and the random boy and towards how elegantly Emily moved in the water, Spencer was right; she caught up within seconds and was already doing her last lap.  
She stole first place and the crowd was going crazy, her swim team friends helped her out of the pool and pulled her into a tight hug.  
Hanna, Spencer and Aria were going crazy and cheering loudly; Alison joined in and couldn't keep her eyes off the puffing brunette, who looked _stunning_ in her swimsuit.  
Water dripped freely down her body and it was very distracting but only because it was the first time Alison had really seen Emily so exposed, though she was covered seconds later with a towel.  
After about ten minutes of solid cheering the crowd seemed to disappear, most people had gone home while a few strays were staying behind to wait for the swim teams to get changed.  
Being a Friday afternoon the rest of the school had gone home for the week so really it was just friends and family that waited for the girls to leave the changing rooms.

"She's so fit, Maya. What happened to getting with her?" Alison was walking out with Spencer, Aria and Hanna when she overheard the random boy talking with Maya again. It was bothering her how he was talking about Emily, and it bothered her more that Maya didn't seem to mind.

"I don't know, she's a prude I guess." They snickered to each other but before Alison could even think of rebutting Hanna was in front of both Maya and the boy with crossed arms.

"I used to like you Maya, I thought you and Em would have been the cutest couple but you know what? I'm just glad she came to her senses before it was too late." Hanna's tone was terrifying and with Spencer and Aria standing either side she was definitely a force not to be messed with. Alison smiled at their courage and Maya seemed stumped at how confident they were but again before Maya could say anything Hanna turned swiftly on her heel and walked to the other end of the hallway while they continued to wait for Emily.

"You're vicious." Alison chuckled. "I like it."

"Well there's no way someone's talking about my best friend like that and getting away with it." Hanna seemed too bothered to even notice the fact that she and Alison were exchanging conversation but before the others could make any comment they heard the doors to the locker rooms open and the girls from the swim team came out. Emily was the last to walk out, she was with the coach and they were heading towards a man that had been standing quietly by the doors the whole time, he looked smart, he was wear a nice suit and though Alison thought it was odd attire to be wearing at such an event she knew exactly why he was there the moment he shook Emily's hand.

"Is that a college scout?" Aria murmured to them, and they all nodded in unison, even Alison.

"Emily is getting scouted! _Oh_ how exciting." Hanna was repressing a squeal while they all watched Emily, the scout and the coach talk, only to moments later be joined by Pam who also shook the scouts hand.  
They spoke for what seemed like forever, Alison was so excited, she didn't know if it was the atmosphere, or if it was the fact that she was hanging around Emily's friends and they didn't seemed overly bothered by her presence. She felt happy and it only heightened when Emily shook hands with the scout once more and waited for him to disappear before getting pulled into a giant hug by her mother. They shared a quick conversation before Pam looked over at the girls and waved, walking over with Emily at her side she noticed Alison was out socialising and it stunned her a bit.

"Hi girls, would you like to come over for dinner tonight? A celebration dinner for the win, what do you say?" Everyone agreed happily and began deciding on a time but Alison and Emily remained quiet. Emily smiled largely when she realised Alison was looking her body up and down, though now she was in her tracksuit and her swim team jacket Alison found herself being distracted with the brunette's beauty.

"Excellent, we shall see you girls at seven." Pam's voice came from the distance as Emily and Alison forced back into reality while Spencer, Hanna and Aria said their goodbyes.  
Turning they headed out of the building and towards the car park where most of the occupants had already disappeared and gone home.

"You swam so well, Em." Alison said as the two tagged behind Pam who was already getting in the car.

"Thanks." Emily smiled.

"And you looked super hot in that swim suit." She giggled playfully before they closed the distance to the car. Emily blushed a bright red and watched as Alison went to confidently open the door and slid into the car, joining her in the back seat Pam looked back at them curiously, when neither of them broke eye contact and were still giggling she turned the car on and headed home.  
She looked in the rear view mirror many times; the amount of conversation that Alison and Emily were exchanging was surprising, especially since she hadn't really heard much from the blonde since she had arrived.

"So I saw you got scouted." Alison nudged her in the side, but really she wanted to pull Emily into a giant huge and congratulate her in other ways.

"I didn't get scouted." Emily began shyly.

"Yes you did." Pam interjected lightly.

"What did he say?" Alison asked eagerly at Emily's side.

"He said if I continue to swim as well as I am and keep up good grades then Danby University will be very interested."

"Em, that's so great!" Alison couldn't contain the hug that she had been suppressing, though it was an awkward position in the car Emily found it adorable and very boosting to her mood and her confidence. They shared an innocent look before parting; realising Pam was still there of course when she pulled the car up in the driveway and killed the engine.

"So, what would you like for dinner? Whatever you want."

"Surprise me." Emily said as she got out of the car, Alison close behind. Pam was surprised with the response but when the brunette seemed uninterested and more forced with the blonde that was following them inside she figured there was something she was missing.

"I'll do my best. Alison, do you mind if I talk to Emily for a second?" Alison left the kitchen with a small wary nod and quickly looked behind her before disappearing upstairs.

"What's going on with you and Alison?" Pam's question wasn't an accusation; it was a curious enquiry that Emily was half expecting, though she still wasn't ready to be talking about it with anyone when they had barely spoken about it.

"What do you mean?" She tried but Pam caught on quickly.

"I call your bluff." She began confidently. "Emily, you know she's going back to California in a few months."

"I know, Mum." It wasn't as though the thought hadn't crossed her mind but whenever Alison was the topic her judgement was clouded, she couldn't help it, she was human after all.

"Is there something going on?"

"No," She defended quickly, though she wasn't sure as to why. "Yes... I don't know."

"I don't want you to get hurt Emily."

There was a moment of silence in which Emily and Pam stared at each other, wary of speaking their minds in case it would offend the other, it wasn't awkward but it was weird to just be standing there not speaking and only staring.  
Emily thought through everything everyone had told her, every opinion even more different than the last.  
It wasn't helping that everyone's opinion seemed to be the opposite, it only confused her more.  
Looking at her mother who cared for her wellbeing, she would have though instantly that she would've taken any advice she would give her but as they stood there silently with nothing else to say it was becoming quite apparent that though Pam wanted the best for Emily, she wanted Emily to figure out what "the best" was on her own, without outsider opinions including her own swaying her decision.

"You're young sweetie but you're not naive, do what you think is right." They shared a smile, the weirdness in the atmosphere disappeared and Emily felt all the pressure evaporate with it. It would be okay and she knew that no matter what happened in the end everything would be alright, that it would all work out eventually. They hugged before Emily left the kitchen, letting her mother do the usual preparation for dinner.  
Heading upstairs assertively she walked straight passed her bedroom and to Alison's door, opening it without knocking she walked boldly to the startled blonde who was unpacking her handbag and pulled her dominantly into a passionate kiss. At first Alison was mildly surprised at the action but didn't hesitate in reciprocating, her hands travelled to the brunette's hair and tangled themselves freely, not wanting to question Emily's sudden act she merely enjoyed the moment.  
Their bodies moved closer together as Alison pushed Emily to the closest wall, feeling her own confidence fall into the kiss when the idea of the brunette dominating her became real. However being the control freak that she was she found herself holding Emily tightly against the wall as the brunette's hands wrapped around her waist, holding her closer.  
They kissed and kissed, only to break apart when the need for air grew.

"What was that for?" Alison whispered, though she wasn't sure why she was being quiet.

"I'm doing what I think is right." Emily replied, matching Alison's tone before pulling her into another fire-filled kiss.  
Smiling into the kiss Alison responded by placing her hands lightly onto the brunette's cheeks, they were close together again and it seemed there was no way they would be pulled apart.  
Neither was leading but somehow they had managed to make their way to the bed with their eyes closed and their minds occupied, laying Alison down Emily hovered above her protectively while her lips quickly travelled away from the blonde's lips and down her neck.

"Em..." Alison whimpered, it was a combination of missing the brunette's lips and the realisation of what was happening. "We should stop."

Lifting up quickly Emily stood from the bed and Alison quickly sat up, both were puffing and out of breath.

"Right." Emily smiled playfully. As time passed and the two continued to look at each other tension grew and it was definitely becoming difficult to control themselves.

"It's not that I don't... you know... _want_ to." Alison justified quickly.

"I know." Emily swallowed and sat beside the blonde who had crossed her legs and had sat her hands on her lap.

"I'm just not ready."

"I would never force you into something you're not ready for, Ali." Emily placed her hand gently on Alison's and played with her soft skin. They sat like that for a long time, enjoying each other's company and as time passed they somehow had made themselves comfortable against the head of the bed.

"Em?" Alison murmured, her head was against Emily's shoulder and Emily's head was against her own while their hands were tangled innocently together.

"Yeah?"

"Are you a... virgin?" The question was personal but Emily didn't feel like she was being interrogated, considering Alison seemed so innocent with how she asked she didn't seem to feel offended in any way, which was odd because she wouldn't even talk to her best friends about the topic.

"Yes." She answered simply.

"So you and Maya never...?" Her voice faded away with shyness, it was only then that she realised how invasive she was being.

"No, we didn't." She answered the question that Alison couldn't finish.

"Good." Alison couldn't help the response fall from her lip, she was jealous and she didn't care if Emily knew that.

"Are you a virgin?" Emily chuckled; she was still finding Alison's response funny as she moved onto the next question.

"I am." The blonde answered confidently and Emily leaned closer to her.

" _Good_." She kissed her neck before chuckling once more. They sat in silence again for a long time, their hands playing a unspoken game of war, neither knew what the rules were but it was a silent fight for dominance that neither were willing to give into, they just played with each other's fingers and waited to see what happened next.

"Em?" Alison asked again.

"Yeah?"

"I want to be your first." She whispered, her voice was so soft it was barely audible but Emily still heard clearly, she knew what Alison was asking and she knew she wanted it as badly as she did.

"I want to be your first too." It was a silent agreement they had made to each other, a promise, and as their hands continued to play innocently between them; both acknowledged that it wasn't going to be broken, no matter what.

Dinner that evening was pleasant, though Emily was never one for the focus to be solely on her, that was what that evening was about. With her mother and father sitting happily and quietly at the end of the table, she noticed they were watching her a lot more than usual, though she was too focused on her friends and Alison to really notice until dinner was finished.  
Hanna and Alison had been talking no stop for most of the meal about shopping and designer brands Emily didn't really have any clue about, while Spencer and Aria continued their usual talk about school and boyfriends. It was normal really, except with Alison in the equation it was different. Looking over at the blonde she caught her already looking at her, smiling she thought to herself, _definitely a good different_.  
Alison tilted her head curiously at Emily's dazed expression, she looked happy so it wasn't as though she needed to be worried, she was merely curious as to why the brunette had zoned out while looking at her, it made her blush which only made Emily smile more.  
They stared at each other. And for a long time, which Pam noticed.

"So Alison, how do you like Rosewood High?" Wayne spoke up for the first time the entire meal, it was surprising at first but Alison merely smiled her usual trademark and answered without hesitation.

"It's been really good; people are so welcoming, even when I probably didn't deserve it." She shared a look with Hanna, Spencer and Aria and genuinely smiled before turning back to Wayne and Pam who both had raised eyebrows.

"Well that's good." Wayne tried first, though he seemed stumped at Alison's statement.

"I'll help with the dishes." Alison volunteered when Pam and Wayne stood up and began collecting them. When they headed into the kitchen they left Emily alone with her three curious friends and when they were out of sight all three heads snapped into her direction.

"What?" She almost squeaked defensively.

"She is the weirdest girl I've ever met and I've been friends with Hanna for a very long time." Spencer said matter-of-factly.

" _Hey_!" Hanna interjected before Emily could defend Alison.

"It's true, Han," Aria began and quickly spoke again as Hanna went to speak. " _Anyways_ , what's going on between you two?"

Emily swallowed deeply when she realised her parents and Alison had left her in an ambush of questions and curiosity.

" _No-thing_ ," Her voice cracked, only causing all three sets of eyebrows raise higher in unison, clearing her throat she tried again. "Nothing."

"Nothing my _ass_." Hanna exclaimed, a little louder than necessary causing _shhhhhh_ 's to come from Spencer and Aria and a snicker fall uncontrollably from Emily's lips.

"What's so funny?" Pam came into the dining room with a glass of wine in her hand.

"Nothing." Emily interrupted before anyone else could speak and though her response was definitely out of the ordinary Pam chose not to make any further comment.  
Everyone made their way into the living room and sat down to watch a movie, it was a nice way to finish off the evening and while Pam and Wayne enjoyed their wine they watched the girls laugh and chatter amongst each other. Alison was quiet for most of the night but she was sitting back and enjoying the company and experience, she had never been around something so positive and it was definitely a new change that she could get used to, that thought however disappeared when she realised it would eventually have to come to an end.  
Not just the evening, but the entire six months was going to be gone before she knew it, it had already been three months and with only three left she felt pressed for time. If she was connecting with people so personally only after that amount of time, what was it going to be like leaving them after six months of knowing them?  
This thought lingered for a long time and suddenly she felt herself stand and leave the room, she didn't want to be this close to people only to lose them because she didn't want that heart break.  
Six heads followed as Alison departed without a word and then five heads quickly snapped towards Emily, shrugging her shoulders she stood up and followed where she saw Alison leave.  
Opening the front door she looked to the side and saw Alison curled up on the swing chair at the other end of the porch, she looked distance and distracted and it was quiet evident something was bothering her.

"Ali?" She mumbled softly, wary to sit down next to the blonde but unsure of what else to do other than comfort and question her. At first she didn't respond but when Emily knelt down in front of her she had no other choice but to acknowledge her presence.

"Are you okay?"

"It's going to be hard to leave." Her voice was soft and her eyes still weren't focused on Emily but it was obvious even with her vague remark that Alison was scared to open up and let people in.

"I know." She whispered in defeat, knowing that the whole experience was going to be difficult. Taking one of Alison's hands with her own and her cheek with the other, Emily held her tightly while bending down in front of her, feeling as helpless as the blonde did.

"I'll just leave and that will be the end of it." Alison's muttered.

"I won't be able to just let you leave. It will hurt too much to watch you go." Her head was bowed against Alison's knees with embarrassment; just _thinking_ about the blonde's inevitable departure was heartbreaking.  
They stayed silent for a long time, the world around them passing by unaware of their troubles. Feeling her own head bow from the weight of the overwhelming emotion crashing on her Alison placed her head against Emily's and took a deep breath.

"We'll figure it out." Emily suddenly whispered determinedly, she knew it would be hard letting Alison go but she knew it would be okay, she knew it would ultimately be worth it.

"What?" The blonde stuttered.

"We'll figure it out, Ali." They lifted their heads and made eye contact, it was as though everything seem to disappear and it was just them, all the bad worries and thoughts seemed to not exist for a small moment.

"We will?" Alison smiled softly.

"If you want to?" Emily smiled back.

"I want too."

"I will fight for you, Ali." Emily remained kneeling while Alison's hands entangled themselves in her hair, holding her tightly and showing no indications of letting go.

"You will?" She felt a small tear develop in the corner of her eye.

"Always." Emily whispered before closing the distance between them. Their lips touching ever so slightly before connecting in an explosion of imaginary fireworks, their lips tingled at the sensation of being against each other and it only caused Alison's smile to enlarge.  
Both girls were unaware of three heads poking out slightly from the space in the door. At first all Hanna, Spencer and Aria were wary of what was happening but as the situation unfold it became quite self-explanatory.

"Oh my _god_." Hanna whispered childishly but before she could blow their cover Aria pulled both her and Spencer away from the door.

"We shouldn't be spying on them." She said with a hush tone as they walked back into the living room, Pam and Wayne had disappeared out into the backyard as usual hence why the three girls had decided to pry in the first place.

"Uh, _yes_ we should, this is juicy stuff! I wonder how long _this_ has been going on." Hanna squealed causing eye rolls from both Aria and Spencer.

"I must say it does indicate why she hasn't wanted to talk about Maya." Spencer muttered factually.

"Um I think Maya's _attitude_ was more an indicator than that, Emily obviously thought Maya wasn't what she was looking for, and she was right. Now Alison is in the picture." Hanna commented.

"Guys, can we not read into this too much until Emily is ready to talk about it with us? _Please_?" Aria begged and Spencer and Hanna exchanged displeased expressions.

"Fine." They agreed in unison.

 **Hey guys sorry about how long it's been – long story – I'll try and do more updates for you. Thanks to the guest who suggested the swim meet idea! I was stuck for a bit but that really helped so thank you! Much appreciated! If anyone else has any ideas, I'm all ears.  
Thanks for reading everyone – I hope it was alright.  
And as always thanks for the lovely reviews **

**-Aemstar**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter Eight**_

The other sound of quiet chewing was covered up by the loud chatter in the school yard, neither Hanna, Spencer nor Aria were talking and Emily couldn't figure out why.  
She was becoming frustrated with the only sound being the occasional swallow or the unnecessary burp Hanna would try and force to lighten the mood. It was tense but again Emily didn't know why, the girls had been fine the Friday night before, what had happened over the weekend to make them so awkwardly silent.

"Okay, what is going on? Did I do something the other night to offend you guys?" Emily finally questioned.

"What?" Spencer's expression was shocked, "No, of course not!"

"Then why are you guys acting so weird?" Emily looked between the three of them while they exchanged looks.

"Because-" Aria began but it was clear Spencer had gone out of her way to silence the short brunette by kicking her leg underneath the old table.

"Because why?" Emily pushed, rolling her eyes at the tall brunette while looking back at Aria.

"Um..." Aria stalled, creating a huge suspense.

"How long have you and Alison been together!? We know you are! And this time don't lie because we actually _saw_ you, so we're definitely not 'seeing things' like you so greatly tried to convince us last time we asked! Well now _I_ have proof." Hanna rambled quickly as she reached into her handbag and pulled out her phone; swiping and tapping the screen a few times she quickly faced it towards Emily, while Spencer and Aria scooted in closer to see what she was talking about.

"Oh my god, Hanna, you took a photo? I didn't even see you with your phone out." Spencer rolled her eyes as the image of Emily and Alison kissing on the front porch came into view.

"I'm sneaky." She snickered triumphantly.

" _Geez_ , how many did you take?" Aria swiped the pictures to the left in astonishment.

"Only a few." Hanna shrugged.

Emily looked down in embarrassment; there the photos were of her and Alison, making their relationship real and the inevitable ending of it so much more real.  
She had promised Alison she would fight for her, even looking at one of the photos where she was kneeling in front of the blonde promising it she had no idea how she was actually going to follow through with it.  
She turned around to look at Alison, who was sitting at her usual spot across the school yard with the popular group and sighed, what was she going to do? California was across the country for goodness sakes.

"Em?" Hanna said warily, worried about her lack of words.

"Hmm?" Emily turned back to face her friends, who had all gone silent with guilt.

" _Well_... how long have you been together?" Aria and Spencer both looked over at Hanna like she had just shot someone, their expression deadly as Hanna looked between them. "What?"

"I told you we shouldn't have been spying." Aria muttered and Emily stood from the table, unsure as to why she grabbed her bag and placed it over her shoulder.

"I've got to go; I forgot to ask Mr. Smith something." It was obvious it was a lie but the three girls could tell there was no challenging her.  
Walking away without another word Emily made her way inside the school, with nothing to do with remainder of lunch but walk around aimlessly until class. She stood by her locker and pressed her head against the cold metal, it wasn't that she was mad with her friends, they couldn't help being curious, it was who they were but it was more she felt alone, alone in the sense that they couldn't empathise. All their partners were in Rosewood and had no reason to leave, well to not leave to the other side of the country anyway.

"Em?" Alison's voice came from the end of the corridor, her tone worried and curious mixed into one.  
Quickly moving her head from the locker Emily turned around to have Alison already walking towards her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Emily leant against the cold metal this time and waited for Alison to be close; taking her hand she smoothed over the skin to enjoy some warmth and comfort.

"Talk to me, what's wrong?"

"My friends saw us the other night," She began, though when she said it out loud she couldn't understand why she was so bothered, "They even took photos."

"Photo's hey? I bet they were hot photos." Alison closed some distance between them, lifting her free hand to Emily's chin she titled her head and smiled warmly.

"They asked how long we've been together." She giggled a little at Alison's response.

"Well, we don't have a particular date but we could definitely set one." Alison looked up as if she was thinking; Emily however thought this was strange behaviour on the blonde's behalf because she was half expecting anger to be the emotional response.

"You're not bothered by them spying on us?" She raised an eyebrow in surprise and Alison shrugged as if it were no big deal.

"I'm flattered," She laughed before linking her arm with Emily's and turning around, "Now tell me, were they good photos?"

#

Later that afternoon Emily found herself walking to her car alone, her friends had kept their distance after her silent outburst and were afraid to push any buttons, worried it would cause a not so silent outburst.

"Hey." Aria said warily as Emily made it to her car, unlocking it she threw her bag in and turned to give the petite girl her attention while waiting for Alison to emerge from the school buildings.

"Hey." She replied, understanding that Aria was already nervous enough in her presence.

"Look, I'm sorry about Hanna, you know what she can be like."

"I know, I'm not upset I was just more surprised."

"I didn't even know she was taking photos honestly, we were just coming out to make sure you were alright and then we saw what happened. I tried to get them to wait until you were ready to talk to us but again, you know what Hanna's like."

They stood in silence as Emily tried to think of what to say next, she wasn't mad, she wasn't upset, she was just confused and confused was pretty much all she could seem to feel lately.  
Confused because everything was happening so much more differently than she had expected, her thoughts were a scattered mess that didn't mesh into anything rational thought, the last two months had been an irrational rollercoaster of events and that was something she was not used too.

"It's okay, it's just been a confusing time and I didn't really know how I could go about asking for advice."

"You know we're you're friends and we'll always be supportive right?" Aria seemed to have taken the time to think through her speech, showing Emily that there were no bad intentions.

"Of course, only Hanna would take photo's right?" They shared a laugh before Hanna and Spencer joined them.

" _So_... are we all good?" Hanna asked carefully, aware that she had over step several lines with the photos.

"We're all good." Emily smiled. "But next time maybe ease up on the photos."

"Okay, I can delete them if you want?" Hanna went into her bag and began digging for her phone, though there was so much stuff taking up the space that it would take at least five minutes for her to find it.

"Delete what?" Alison's voice came from behind them; she was chirpy and full of life, something Emily was happy to see.

"The photos." Emily informed her as the blonde took her place by her side.

"Oh why? I bet they were hot." Alison seemed unaware how confident her comment was, she didn't fault but Emily however blushed uncontrollably and everyone noticed.

"So you told her then." Spencer quirted an eyebrow and looked between them, Alison merely straightened her shoulders and smirked playfully.

"Alison?" An unfamiliar voice came from behind the group, well it was unfamiliar to Emily but it seemed Alison recognised it instantly.

"Mum?" Her voice was soft, straight away different to what her confident demeanour was moments before.

The girls looked Alison's Mum quickly up and down, she was well dressed but her eyes had large dark blue bruises underneath them, her skin was pale and evident that it hadn't been taken care of in months maybe even years. Her body was shaking slightly and every so often she would twitch or completely turn around to take in the environment.

"What are you doing here?" Alison was significantly quieter, her body language displaying total discomfort as her mother closed some distance between them.

"I came to visit you." She smiled innocently.

"From California? Mum, you're not supposed to be here." Alison's comment sounded almost like a warning mixed with the confusion on whether or not she was happy to see her mother.

"I can see my own daughter if I want too!"

"Mum, _please_ , don't do this here." Alison grabbed her mother's hand and tried to drag her away but the older DiLaurentis merely tugged back and stood tall.

"Who are your friends?" She continued to ignore her daughter and instead presented her hand to Emily first, she had made the connection that she was the closest to Alison.

Emily looked over at Alison before warily taking her mother's hand and shaking it, her expression was borderline 'stand-offish' because she knew a fair bit about the older woman to make her uncomfortable in her presence.

"I'm Jessica, DiLaurentis obviously, I'm sorry my rude daughter can't even manage a proper introduction." Jessica didn't release her hold on Emily's hand until she decided to speak.

"Emily," She paused and Jessica raised an eyebrow, indicating she was after a last name. "Fields."

"Ah Emily, I believe Alison is staying with your family."

"That's correct." There was an unspoken tension in the air between Jessica and Emily but the older woman pretended there was nothing out of the ordinary and moved on to shake the other girls hands.  
Emily looked over at Alison whose eyes were distant but when they made contact with hers she quickly bowed her head in embarrassment, she had never seen Alison like this before and it frightened her.  
Moving closer to the blonde to provide support Emily lightly skimmed their fingers lightly together before moving away when Jessica turned to face them again.  
Spencer, Hanna and Aria felt incredibly awkward but they weren't leaving Emily or Alison alone, anyone could tell this woman was trouble.

"So Emily, how is Alison behaving? Is she being as much trouble here as she was in California?"

"She's been nothing but perfect." Emily's teeth were gritted and her hands were ever so slightly clenched, Jessica noticed and smirked, it was the spitting image of Alison's smirk.

"Emily, don't you have work today?" Hanna quickly walked between the two before things got any more heated.

"Yes."

"What a nice friend, making sure you don't miss work." Jessica's tone was laced with mocking but before Emily could retaliate she continued. "Alison, I want you to pack your things."

"What? Why?" Alison's head shot up with in milliseconds of her mother command.

"Because I'm taking you home."

"You're not taking her anywhere." Emily growled defensively, noticing now that a few stray students were catching a look at the action before leaving school for the day.

"Look, I'm sure you're taking very good care of my Alison, but we don't need you or your family's charity. I'm her mother and I'm taking her home." Jessica closed the distance between her and Emily, showing the brunette that she wasn't backing down to anybody.

"Mrs DiLaurentis?" The vice principal was suddenly in view along with Spencer at his side; however Emily wasn't even aware Spencer had left.

"That would be me." Jessica jumped and turned, her dominating confidence long gone when she recognised the bolding man as an authority figure.

"Girls why don't you head home? I shall talk to Mrs DiLaurentis alone."

All five girls didn't hesitate in turning and heading back to their cars.

"See you guys later." Emily called as her three friends gave them sympathetic looks, though she was standing right by her car she didn't hesitate in moving to the passenger side and opening the door for Alison.  
As the blonde tried to get in Jessica's hand was quickly around her arm, stopping her from moving.

"You're not going anywhere." Jessica began but even before Alison or Emily could fight back they were interrupted.

"Mrs DiLaurentis, please, let's talk about this inside. Girls, go home."

They were in the car and driving down the street before Jessica could say another word. It was a quiet trip home and Emily felt awful that she couldn't think of a single thing to say. She was sure the blonde was crying but every time she looked over Alison was looking out the window, avoiding her eyes. When she stopped the car in the driveway she put the hand break on and took her seat belt off, turning to Alison she didn't spare another minute before putting her hand carefully on the blonde's thigh.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly and slowly Alison moved her gaze from the window to Emily's caring eyes.

"I can't believe she just got on a plane and came here _expecting_ I'd go home with her. I don't even know how she could afford a ticket." She raised her hands above her head in disbelief before placing one calmly above Emily's warm hand.

"Maybe she thought she was doing the right thing?"Emily tried but she knew it wouldn't be the case.

"She never does anything unless it benefits her, it doesn't matter she's been dealt with, you've got to go or you'll be late for work." She brushed it aside, deciding not to focus on it and let it consume her thoughts.

"Are you sure?" Emily wasn't convinced but as Alison got out of the car and leant into her open window, she gave a warm smile that Emily had grown to love so much.

"Positive. I'll see you when you get home, seven thirty right?"

"Right." Emily confirmed but she was uncomfortable with leaving, she knew she was needed at work; however that didn't settle her feelings conflict any less but she knew Alison would be okay and that the blonde was used to recovering from stressful situations by being alone.

"See you then." She chirped, suddenly her normal self again. Flashing a quick kiss on the cheek Alison departed without another word or even a turn back but when she made it to the front door and Emily was backing out of the drive way she quickly waved before heading inside.

#

For only a three hour shift it seemed to go on forever, Sam shared Emily's disinterest in how slow the business was going that particular afternoon so she decided to close up earlier.

"Thanks for coming this afternoon, sorry it was so boring. I can't be bothered doing any stock paper work."

"That's alright, tomorrows a new day." Emily forced the smile; her thoughts were so consumed by what had happened earlier that day that even managing a proper conversation was a struggle.

"How are things with Alison?" She questioned as they walked slowly to their cars, smiling at the other stray people on the foot path that passed by them.

"Complicated." She sighed; it seemed the best things in life were never easy.

"Have you decided what you're going to do?" Sam leant against Emily's door so she couldn't get in the vehicle, it was clever and sassy, but it couldn't even make the brunette laugh when she wiggled her eyebrows playfully.

"I met her mother today." Changing the topic slightly Emily sighed once more before putting her keys back in her hand bag and leaning against the car next to Sam.

"Oh? How did that go?" Sam recognised Emily's discomfort immediately.

"She's a piece of work, that's for sure." She scoffed, Jessica was definitely something to be aware of but not afraid of, that's what she wanted and Emily wasn't going to give that to her.

"How so?"

"I think Alison is afraid of her and I think there's more to her story than what I'm being told but I don't want to push it. So I'm struggling to be supportive without choking her mum."

"Maybe ask California what's going on? She might be willing to talk to you after seeing her mother." Sam's insight was exactly what Emily needed, a third party non-biased opinion that could guide her in the right direction.

"She seemed pretty distance this afternoon and then when I dropped her off her mood changed so quickly, it was like nothing happened at all."

"That might be her way of coping, go to her and comfort her; she probably needs it more than _she_ thinks."

Sam stood away from Emily's door allowing her access to her car once more; smiling Emily pulled out her keys and opened the door.

"Be careful though, it might be a sensitive topic and she could snap but don't take it to heart if she does, she's mad at her mum. Not you."

"How very insightful of you." Emily smiled as she put her seat belt on.

Sam smiled, "Make her feel special, okay?"

She shut the door and walked away, Emily was definitely intrigued by Sam's understanding and knowledge but with no time to waste she turned the car on and headed home.  
As she pulled the car up in the driveway behind her dads she got out of the car and looked at some of the rose bushes that her mother had planted about a year ago, they were flowering surprisingly well for the cold weather so she decided, even though she would probably get in trouble, to pick one rose in hoping her mother wouldn't notice.  
She found her mother's tools on the front porch with luck and went to cut one of the stems from the mini tree that held some red roses.  
Walking back up to the porch she put the clippers away and hide the rose as best she could in her bag while opening the door, moving inside she realised she was still earlier than originally planned, it was only just hitting seven o'clock when she closed the door.

"Emily?" Pam called from the living room.

"Yeah, hey." She called, before trying to head upstairs.

"Can you come here for a minute?" Without answering Emily sighed and walked back down the three stairs she had managed to almost escape up before heading into the living room.  
Her mother and father were sitting on the lounge with a glass of red wine in their hands; they seemed to be having an intense conversation before Emily had arrived home.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked hastily, trying to hurry up the conversation so she could go see Alison.

"We need to talk about Alison." Wayne said as he motioned his daughter to take a seat. Doing as she was told she placed her bag on the ground and out of sight.

"What about her?"

"We heard her mother came to you and your friends at the school today." Pam was the one to speak as she and Wayne remained seated.

"She did. Is everything okay?" Emily could sense the under tone of sensitivity to the subject and suddenly she realised Jessica's presence was a forbidden one.

"Did she hurt Alison?" Wayne asked softly.

"She pulled on her arm, it looked like it hurt. Why aren't you asking Alison?" Emily recalled Jessica being quite rough with Alison and it made anger bubble dangerously within her.

"She won't talk to us." Pam sighed.

"Is she okay? I'll go talk to her." Emily stood and grabbed her bag, heading out of the room before her mother spoke to her again.

"Just be careful alright? She could be quite sensitive."

Emily nodded and made her way upstairs, she couldn't understand why people were warning her about Alison, she wasn't the one to be afraid of. Alison was a reasonable person.  
Pulling out the rose from her bag she knocked on the door and decided to wait for the blonde to grant her permission to enter but as moments passed and she was contemplating knocking again, Alison shyly opened the door slightly.  
Her eyes were bloodshot red and sore, showing clear signs that she had spent the afternoon crying.

"Hey." She sniffed and rubbed her eyes quickly. "I thought you were going to be home at seven thirty."

"I can leave you alone until then?" Emily said as she placed the rose behind her back and out of sight.

"No, don't please." Alison pleaded as she reached for Emily's free hand and pulled her inside her room. Shutting the door quickly behind them Emily turned to see Alison with her head against the door as though she was trying to pull herself together.  
Taking her hand once more Emily brought the rose from behind her back and turned Alison to face her, smiling innocently she bowed her head slightly at the realisation of her cheesiness.  
Alison's lips stretched into a large smile and tears began welling in her eyes, stepping forward she looked down at the rose then back up at Emily.

"For me?"

"I picked it thinking you might need a bit of cheering up." Emily murmured shyly.

Alison stepped closer again, taking the rose and smelling it before bringing Emily into a tight hug. Nuzzling her head deep into Emily's shoulder she felt more tears fall.

"It's perfect." She whimpered, holding Emily tighter.

"Just like you, Ali. Don't let _anyone_ let you think you're not." At Emily's words Alison crumbled, tears fell uncontrollably and her gripped tightened however her legs almost buckled under pressure and Emily had to support her. Walking to the bed she sat Alison down and knelt in front of her, a position that was becoming her supportive standard, mainly because it showed that there were no intentions to over power or dominate the blonde. Taking the rose Emily placed it to the side before grabbing Alison's hands and kissing each before catching the blonde's chin with her hand.

"Please don't disappear on me." Emily pleaded, afraid that Alison had retreated to a safer place in her mind. A place where no one could hurt her.

"I won't." Alison's eyes were distant, indicating she was lying.

"Ali, you've already started to leave, come back to me." Both Emily's hands went to Alison's cheeks in hopes it would stop the blonde from mentally leaving her body.  
Alison could see the desperation in Emily's eyes, making her own sore ones water slightly; bringing her hands to the back of Emily's neck she tangled her fingers in the thick brown locks.

"I'm here."

Emily straightened up on her knees and placed herself between Alison's legs that were hanging over the bed; though it may have seemed sexual it was pure innocence as she closed the distance between them.

"Don't leave me, okay? I need you to stay strong."

They remained silent for what seemed like forever, but as their hands clutched to one another the need to talk seemed to evaporate. Alison sniffed slightly as her cries began to lessen and suddenly she felt the need to have Emily as close as possible amplify.  
Pulling on the soft brown hair gently she drew Emily close, bringing her into a chaste kiss. Emily smiled and deepened the kiss before moving her hands from Alison's cheeks to her waist, playing with the bare skin underneath the blonde's shirt.  
Pulling tightly Alison made Emily rise from her kneeling position to hover above her on the bed; their bodies were inches apart as Emily laid each hand either side of her body.

"Ali..." Emily began, though she was interrupted by a passionate kiss as it seemed Alison was in no mood to talk but more in the mood to act on her impulses.  
Emily was wary; she knew this wasn't the time to be acting on such urges though it was definitely tempting. This situation was dangerous; this was a one way street to trouble if she didn't stop while she had the option and control. It wasn't because she didn't want to do it but because Alison was so emotionally distant it would be wrong to pursue something potentially contaminating, even if it was Alison initiating it, for a moment of pleasure.  
She wanted to be rational and think before acting, however Alison's wondering hands were making that particularly difficult.

"This is wrong, Ali." Emily began and she pulled away, though Alison's lips continued a path down her neck before quickly stopping when the brunette's words sank in.

"You don't want to?" Hurt was evident in her voice.

"Of course I do, I've wanted to for ages but I want it to be perfect," Alison's eyes were still wet but curious. "You deserve perfect."

She nodded as she understood Emily's intention, this was definitely what she wanted but not like this. Wrapping her arms around Emily's back she pulled the brunette close and held her tightly, with no intentions of letting go any time soon.

"I do?" This time instead of hurt, doubt was the clear emotion in Alison's voice.

"Of course!" Emily rose from her hold and looked directly in the bright blue eyes gazing carefully back at her.  
Understanding that there was a lot more to Alison's story Emily lay to the side and pulled her gently to her chest, cuddling her protectively while the rest of her tears subsided.  
They stayed like this and half an hour later Alison was asleep, as Emily watched over the blonde she counted the times she would murmur in her sleep, she was up to five times when a soft knock on the door interrupted her.

"Yeah?" Her voice was soft but still audible to the person on the other side who opened the door slowly after she spoke.

"Hey sweetie." Pam whispered when she realised Alison was asleep, she was mildly surprised at how close the two were but at the same time there was no shock to the situation.

"Hey." Emily whispered back.

"I was just going to ask if your father and I could talk to you, but it can wait." Pam turned to walk out of the room but Emily stopped her.

"No it's okay; I'll come out while she's asleep." Slowly Emily somehow skilfully detangled herself from Alison's tight hold without disturbing her. Walking out of the room with her mother she left the door slightly ajar.

"What's up?" She asked when she returned to the living room where her parents were waiting.

"We think Alison's mother is going to be trouble, she's claiming that no one told her about Alison coming here and she never agreed to it." Pam said as Emily sat across from her parents.

"Why would she think that?"

"Because it's partly true, she did know that Alison was coming here but she didn't consent to it."

"Why not?" Emily was becoming more and more curious about Jessica DiLaurentis.

"Because she doesn't need to, Alison is a program similar to foster care, the state thinks Jessica DiLaurentis is unfit to be a parent, the only reason they didn't just put Alison in the system is because she's so close to eighteen. This was a trail program and it seemed to be working until her mother showed up." Wayne had his arm around Pam's shoulders, it seemed they were both growing to like Alison as well and now that it was coming onto almost three months of her company it was harder and harder to grasp the concept that in just over three months the blonde would be returning home.

"So, she's definitely going back to California after this?"

"Not necessarily, it's up to Alison and what she wants to do, we were under the impression she was going back to live with her brother but if she finds a different college that she likes then she can always change her mind."

"So she can change her mind and do what she wants at the end of this program?" Emily felt a pinch of excitement course through her at the thought of Alison having freedom to choose instead of just coming back to California because the program says she had too.

"If she wants Emily, she will technically be a grown up." Pam smiled, she knew what her daughter was thinking and though it may have seemed too soon she knew it was okay to think about positive things.  
Suddenly a loud screaming came from upstairs and Emily immediately recognised the sound. She stood up so quickly and headed up the stairs before Pam or Wayne could register what was going on.  
Rushing into Alison's room she darted to the blonde's side and tried to hold her, this time however she was still lying down, she must have still been hallucinating when Emily reached her side because she was still frozen, unable to move because her brain wouldn't allow it.

"It's okay, there's nothing there." She watched Alison's eyes investigate as her brain tried to force her body to follow orders.

"Ali, it's Emily, I'm here. It's okay, you're safe." Alison was still fidgeting but her screams had subsided the moment Emily was touching her.

"Wake up, Ali." She felt tears well in her eye at Alison's incapability to move, it was scary to witness, goodness knows how Alison's was feeling _experiencing_ it.  
Moments passed and Alison took in a large breath and jolted forward, moving against the bed board she looked to the cupboard and to the doorway, Pam and Wayne were standing there terrified but they didn't move.  
Embarrassed, she began crying and pulled her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth hoping the bad thoughts would go away. Everything was a messy blur until she looked at Emily who seemed to be the only thing that came into focus.

"You're okay." She cooed, pulling the blonde into a tight embrace.

"Emily..." It sounded as though Alison was questioning if she was really there, or more like questioning herself to what was real and what wasn't.

"Yeah, it's me." She held tightly onto Alison and in response the blonde clutched to her, realising that it was indeed Emily holding her.

"Em, don't let my mum take me." Shyly Alison buried her head into Emily's chest for protection.

"I won't, Ali, I won't." She placed a hand protectively over Alison's head and began lightly soothing her hair.  
Pam and Wayne exchanged concern looks before leaving the room, deciding that they couldn't help in the situation.

"I'm sorry I left you alone." She felt awful as the blonde continued to clutched to her like it was the last thing she would ever feel against her finger tips.

"I don't want to turn out like my mother." Alison said suddenly, "I don't want to do _nothing_ with my life like she is. I know I can do better than she did."

"You can Ali, you can do anything I just know it. I will help you if you need it." Emily said comfortingly, accepting that Alison's thoughts were just as scattered as her own.  
Alison remained quiet for the rest of the night, not wanting to talk but not wanting to leave Emily's side for a single second.  
It was almost midnight when she had finally given up in her quest to keep her eyes from closing; she was so emotionally exhausted that her body had finally caught up with that exhaustion.  
Emily didn't get to sleep until almost two and that was when a movie on Alison's laptop had finished and was changing over.  
By morning Emily was so ready for a shower but she still wasn't ready to leave Alison's side, she shift due to a long amount of time being in the same position without moving.

"Emily?" She heard Alison whisper softly, pulling her from her scrambled thoughts.

"Yeah?" She replied with a small kiss on the blonde's forehead.

"Do you think I'm weak?" Her voice was so soft it was a whimper.

"God _no_! Ali you're the strongest person I know, beside maybe my dad." She said playfully, causing the tiniest smile stretch across the blonde's lips.

"Can you help me with something?" She asked bravely clearly afraid of what the answer might be however taking a deep breath when Emily nodded. "Will you help me look at some colleges?"

Emily smiled largely, it was like music to her ears hearing something so positive coming from Alison's soft lips, even if she wasn't overly confident it was still a huge step forward that Emily was more than happy to be a part of.

"Whatever you need, Alison. I will help you do it." They looked at each other and enjoyed the moment before Pam called them down for breakfast.

"You don't have to go to school today if you don't want to?" Emily offered as they both stood from the bed.

"I'll be okay." She smiled as she threw on one of her jackets, the morning temperature a little too cold for her liking.

#

School seemed to go on forever that particular day, Emily had gotten a message from Hanna that she had seen Jessica hanging around the front the school which had made her extra nervous for a good percentage of the morning. It wasn't until lunch time when she was walking to her locker to put some books away that she seemed to let her thoughts wonder elsewhere, momentarily anyway.

"Emily Fields." Jessica's voice came from behind her and as she turned to face the older woman she was surprised to see her looking even more tired and fidget than the day before.

"Jessica." Emily shut her locker door a little louder than usual, making Jessica jump slightly. Crossing her arms she watched as Jessica looked up and down the hallway. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

"If I didn't know any better, I would think you were being sarcastic." Jessica straightened up and mimic Emily's crossed arms.

"I think you're imaging things. What do you want?" Emily wasn't in any particular mood to deal with Jessica or her fake pleasantries but she figured she would be dealing with it at some point.

"I just want my daughter home."

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" She showed no signs that she was interested in making conversation but for the first time ever she was glad Alison wasn't with her

"I want to speak to Alison, where is she?"

"With all due respect Jessica, I don't think you should be talking to her right now. I know for a fact you're not even supposed to be here in Rosewood. So I suggest, before you get in any more trouble, that you leave _without_ talking to Alison."

"That sounds an awful lot like a threat, Emily."

"Take it how you want." Her fists were clenched tightly together but she was glad that it was hidden by her folded arms.

"You won't take my daughter away from me." Her voice was low and scary, Emily could understand why Alison was so afraid of her mother but she didn't back down for a second.

"That sounds an awful lot like a threat, Jessica."

"Emily." Hanna's voice suddenly came from behind the pair and within seconds she was standing between them, almost prying them apart with her bare hands. "Come on, we've been waiting for you."

Hanna pulled Emily's arm and went to drag her away when Jessica spoke once more.

"You know, she'll just leave you in the end and she'll always come back to me. I'm all she has."

"You're wrong." Emily pulled away from Hanna's hold and turned to face Jessica once more. "She has so much more here than you ever gave her."

Jessica looked so unimpressed by Emily's words that she moved forward as if to strike but seconds passed and Emily felt another set of hands on her body and a blur of blonde locks stand in front of her.

"You stay away from her." Alison defended; her words strong and fierce.

"Alison dear, please, I'm your _mother_." Jessica's tone changed instantly at Alison's presence, her manipulation obvious to all three girls that stood before her.

"Please, just leave." Alison turned without another word pulling Emily and Hanna with her, too scared to look around she held tightly onto Emily's hand and walked away, tears welling in her eyes.

"Thank you." Emily murmured as they moved out of the school building and into a more crowded area, safe from Jessica's anger and uncontrolled rage.

"No, thank _you_." They shared a tight hug before Alison looked over Hanna. "And thank you for saving Emily from my mother."

"Oh that was all you." Hanna shrugged it off, "I definitely wouldn't want to mess with you, that's for sure."

They shared a small laugh and Alison squeezed Emily's hand, thankful to have someone who truly cared for her with no bad intentions.  
It was definitely something she wasn't used too but she had no complaints in growing accustom to it now.

 **Hey guys hope this was an alright chapter, feeling a little stuck I guess. It's been a rough couple of months for me, so thanks for being so patient x  
Thanks for all the support to the lovely people who left reviews as well  
Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and an awesome New Years.**

 **-Aemstar**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys, I'm just going to give you some quick notes before get started, I know it's been a while – I've recently been seeing a doctor about some issues and fanfics was kind of pushed to the side. I'm sorry, I just haven't been feeling like writing, it's been a real struggle and everything has been really hard but your lovely reviews are always so amazing and they make me feel really good! I know it's been a while since I've updated and I hope this one will be okay, if it's not just be kind about it.  
Anyways I won't bore you with all that, so enjoy! :)**

 _ **Chapter Nine**_

"These all look too prestigious, there's no way I'll get into any of them." Alison groaned and put her head on Emily's shoulder in frustration.  
They had been sitting at Emily's desk for almost an hour, looking at different college's and application dates, Alison had wanted to give up less than half an hour into the search but with soft push Emily had managed to convince her to continue.

"Hey, don't doubt yourself; these places would be lucky to have you." She wrapped her arm around the blonde and rubbed her arm softly.

"You have to say that." Alison rolled her eyes playfully at her kind comment.

"You know I mean it."

"Are you looking at any other colleges besides Danby?" She moved from Emily's shoulder and looked away from the laptop screen for the first time in almost an hour.  
Emily however had been sneaking glimpses of the blonde nonstop pretty much the entire hour; she noticed every time but chose not to make comment.

"Well, actually I wanted you to be the first to know..." Emily began shyly, suddenly embarrassed to have Alison looking at her.

"To know what?" The blonde smiled curiously.

"Coach said Stanford University was interested, they were going to send a scout to my next swim meet."

"Stanford, as in California?" Alison connected the small dots that Emily had laid before her.

"I was just keeping my options open." She smiled sincerely, though in the back of her mind she was concerned about Jessica, though it had been a week since they had seen the older DiLaurentis word on the street was she was still in Rosewood.

"But you've always had your heart set on Danby since you were a kid, haven't you?" Alison questioned as Emily shut the laptop lid.

"I have but Stanford is a great school, it would be crazy of me not to at least consider it, it's a good opportunity."

"Is that the only reason you're considering it?" Alison quirked an eyebrow and glared at her daringly.

"Partly." Her voice crack between the response, indicating there was more than she was revealing.

"Partly?" Alison moved closer, closing some distant between them before raising her eyebrows skilfully.  
They were so close that Emily could feel Alison's breath on her lips, she could smell it and it smelt tempting and sweet, it was difficult to focus when the temptation dangled so effortlessly in front of her.

"I had just been considering it when I didn't know what you were doing about college. I wanted to keep that option in mind." She shook her head as if it would clear her thoughts, though it didn't do much, especially when Alison's hand began caressing her thigh softly over her shorts, while occasionally straying underneath the fabric slightly further than she was expecting. She gasped when Alison touch grazed ever so lightly on her inner thigh, causing her breath to catch in her throat.

"Ali..." She whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Exploring." She whispered seductively in return before moving her hand further up Emily's thigh.

"But... we're supposed to be looking at colleges..." She murmured breathlessly.

"I do recall you were the one who shut the laptop lid." Alison leant in and brushed her lips against her ear, causing her hair to rise up on end and a small shiver to erupt within her.  
She exhaled deeply in an attempt to try and manage her growing emotions mixed with her out of control hormones.

"Ali you make it impossible to keep myself under control." She almost panted as Alison's hand continued its path up and down her thigh.

"That's the point." Alison's voice was deep and laced with a sexy exterior that melted her to the core.

Alison's hand moved from her thigh to her hip, which was quickly joined by the other hand and in unison they began turning the brunette closer, so close that their own body temperature could be felt by the other. In one final move Alison let her lips finally reconnect with Emily's once the teasing had become too torturous even for her.  
Emily sighed into the kiss as if it had relieved hours and hours of tension and build up, so much so that she was almost at exploding point just before Alison's lips allowed a soft, calming release. It was an innocent kiss however passion lingered dangerously behind the surface, testing them and their control. Challenging them to see how much power they really had and how they would keep it in their enclosed finger tips.

"If you keep touching me like this I don't know if I'll be able to stop." Emily panted through each kiss while Alison's hands began playing with teasingly underneath her shirt.

"Do you want to stop?" Alison questioned seriously and Emily paused, continue to kiss while thinking of what she wanted.

"No..." She pulled away and was met with Alison's bright blue eyes staring carefully back at her.

"Are you sure?" Alison removed her hands when she realised how distracting they were for the brunette.

"Girls! We're home!" Pam called from down stairs, back from their usual Saturday morning grocery shopping.

"Damn." Emily mumbled to herself, her heart rate decreasing slightly when the prospect of being with Alison privately disappeared.

Alison giggled at her quiet and subtle outtake of displeasure while giving her a swift kiss and standing.

"We'd better go help with the shopping." Emily reluctantly stated as she stood from the chair and provided Alison her hand.  
Taking it she was pulled into a passionate kiss before being pulled down the hallway and down stairs, it wasn't until she was outside and carrying a bag of groceries in that she realised how dazed she was by the kiss.

"How was your morning girl's?" Wayne asked as they placed the last of the groceries bags on the kitchen island.

"Good, we were looking at college application dates." Alison said as she sat on one of the stools next to Wayne who was reading the newspaper and sipping at the coffee Pam had made for him before she began putting the food away.  
Pam and Wayne looked up at her in surprise, they weren't expecting this response and reaction looked over at Emily who had started making her and Alison a coffee.

"College applications, hey? Are you interested in going Alison?"

"I thought about it, there's no harm in trying, right?" She responded before looking subtly over at Emily who had her back to all of them.  
She was curiously if Emily would tell them about Stanford, it was pretty big news so it was interesting the brunette hadn't said anything yet.

"Not at all, what an excellent idea. Have you found any that might be for you?" Pam seemed oblivious to Alison curious glare upon Emily.

"Uh, nothing yet but I'm sure I'll find something I like." She looked away from the silent Emily, figuring she wasn't ready to talk about the prospect of Stanford just yet.

"Well that is still wonderful." Pam chimed happily as she finished putting the groceries away.

Emily placed before Alison a coffee and sat next to her, being strangely quiet, had she upset the brunette? Had she done something wrong? Or was Emily just consumed by her many thoughts?  
She didn't know but it was bothering her that she couldn't ask with Emily's parents around, however she sipped at her coffee and decided it was nothing and that she would ask what was wrong later when they were alone.

The morning passed quickly and suddenly it was mid afternoon and Emily was getting ready to spend some time with Hanna because it had felt like forever since they had, they had organised to hang out the day before and were planning on going shopping.  
Emily was walking down the stairs when Alison grabbed her hand and pulled her into a passionate kiss, she was so taken by surprise she almost forgot to kiss back.

"You sure you have to go?" Alison almost begged as her lips strayed to her neck.

"Yes, Hanna will probably kill me if I don't." She titled her head to provide Alison with more access; this however was a bad move when she was reminded how irresistible the blonde was.

"But we could have some fun here." The blonde bit at Emily's neck softly, trying her hardest to keep her from leaving.

"I'll be back tonight." She promised.

"I'm hanging out with Noel a little later so you'll probably bet me home." Alison took Emily's hand and kissed it before heading down the stairs and outside with her.

"Noel, hey?" Emily mumbled sarcastically while wriggling her eyes teasingly.

"Cool your jets, I'm helping him with Mona, he's managed to ask her out but he can't figure out what to wear. He's a bit of a girl." Alison rolled her eyes when Emily smirked playfully before getting in the car.

"Well have fun but not too much without me." She smiled genuinely this time before turning the car on, putting the window down and shutting the door.

"I won't. See you tonight." She leant against the opened window frame and smirk her trademark smile.

"Indeed you shall." Emily chuckled before quickly placing a kiss on Alison forehead and reversing out of the driveway.

-x-

"Well hello you, I feel like we haven't hung out in ages." Hanna said as she opened the passenger door and got in the car.

"Hi, yeah it's been a while since it's been just us." Emily waited for Hanna to put her seat belt on before driving away.

"We're okay, right? You're not still mad at me about the photos, are you?" She was referring to the photos the night Emily and Alison had promised each other they fight to stay together.  
It was heart warming and she was glad Emily could feel that, even if Alison did have to return to California.

"We're all good, I'm not mad." Emily replied genuinely, oblivious to Hanna's thoughts.

"You secretly loved the photo's, that's why." She giggled evidently very proud of herself.

"Do... you still have them?" Emily asked shyly as she drove. They were heading to the mall, a dead zone at this time on a Saturday; everyone had either done their shopping or was too lazy to bother trying and accepted that it was on tomorrow's to-do-list.

" _Maybe_." She pulled out her phone and began pressing her screen increasingly fast. Moments later there was a small beep emanating from Emily's pocket indicating she had gotten a message and Hanna swiftly put her phone back in her hand bag. "They're all yours."

"Thanks." She uttered shyly.

"Oh, don't be such a prude you're allowed to kiss someone." Hanna rolled her eyes at Emily's shyness, surely after all this time she would be a little more confident with herself and her sexuality.

"I know that." She scoffed, though subconsciously she was always worried about people being overly judgemental.

"Have you guys done it yet?" She blurts out casually, as if the question is normal conversation like the weather.

Emily is taken aback by it but chooses to remain calm, this definitely wasn't a question she was expecting on her shopping day but if she were to expect it, it would be coming from Hanna.

"Hanna." Emily groaned as she drove into the malls underground parking lot, usually it was busy in the dark, dank area but they had come at the right time where the only people that seemed interested where the staff or elder couples.  
Pulling up in a spot close to the entrance she switched the ignition off and took the keys out while giving the blonde beside her an exasperated expression.

"What? There's so much sexual tension between you two I can feel it from my house. Will you guys just do it already?" Hanna got out of the car loudly, seemingly oblivious to any other patrons that may have been in the small underground area.

"We aren't talking about my sex life anymore." Emily tried ending the conversation but Hanna shrugged it off effortlessly.

"Or _lack_ of sex life." She snickered.

"Would you stop?" Emily couldn't help giggling too however. "Besides, we've only known each other like three months."

"So? Caleb and I were at that stage by three months." She shrugged as if the information wasn't personal.

"I would like to point out that for almost the first month she hated me." Emily had almost forgotten that this was what Hanna was like, this was her personality and that was what she loved about her. The confidence to be so casual about her need to ask such private questions was exactly what made Hanna, Hanna.

"Yeah, you never really did tell us how you guys went from one extreme to the other." They were walking through the automatic glass doors when they passed an elder couple who were leaving with a few bags; they shared a smile and continued on their way.

"I don't even know." She mumbled while trying to think back.

"Well, when did you guys first kiss?" Hanna tried booting Emily's thought into gear and the reminder made a large smile form across the brunette's lips. "Oh look at you; you're so taken by her."

Hanna squealed quietly as they walked aimlessly around the mall, looking for any random shop to pass the time in.

"Stop it." Emily blushed and shoved the blonde softly, clearly embarrassed with her accurate analysis.

"So, first kiss? Or did we witness it?" Hanna questioned it as if she was hoping it was the case.

"Oh uh definitely not, it was actually after Maya and I hung out." Emily recalled it clearly, though the weeks following it was an awkward sequence of events.

"Oh my god, how _scandalous_." Hanna giggled as she walked into a clothing store Emily didn't bother checking the name of, she was positive she didn't know it.

"Not really, she ignored me for like two solid weeks after that."

" _Oh_... that was ages ago!" Hanna looked up from a pair of shorts she was admiring to give Emily a shocked expression, as though even she was surprised by the time period.

"You seem surprised." Emily took the shorts from her and looked at the price, her eyes widened in response before putting them back for Hanna.

"Hey, those are cute." She complained loudly causing a soft chuckle from the only salesperson in the store to slip before quickly returning to folding the clothes that had been messed up by previous customers.

"I don't understand why you would pay so much money for something that doesn't even cover your whole butt." Emily muttered softly, trying to keep her voice from being heard by the petite blonde that was less than six feet away from them.

"Don't worry I'm not buying it for you." Hanna stuck her tongue out playfully before grabbing the shorts and heading to the dressing room, waving the item at the young woman to indicate she was trying them on.

By the time Hanna had put the shorts on and decided she like them Emily had already had enough of shopping. As she waited for Hanna to finish she puckered up the courage to ask what had been on her mind since earlier that morning.

"Did Caleb make it special?" She asked softly behind the curtain while waiting for Hanna to emerge.

"What?" Hanna carelessly opened the curtain and walked out in her bra and the shorts she was trying on.

"Why don't you have a shirt on?" Emily rolled her eyes, distracted by Hanna's confidence she looked away embarrassed.

"Oh goodness Emily, they're just boobs, there was a cool shirt hanging up in here that someone must have forgotten to put back, it's super cute too and it'll work well with these shorts." She moved to the back of the small cube that was the dressing room and took the shirt from the hanger, putting it on she looked in the mirror and smiled happily. "It's adorable, don't you think?"

"It is, I actually like it." Emily said honestly and Hanna smiled in return before turning back to her with a curious expression.

"Did Caleb make what special?" She asked obliviously and Emily cleared her throat shyly as a large lump decided to make its entrance at the worst time.

"Your first... time... together."

" _Oh_." She began and shrugged as if the question wasn't out of the ordinary. "Well, yes but it was mostly special cause it was with him. He's amazing."

Her eyes drifted away before quickly darting back to Emily, raising her index finger indicating she be one minute she shut the curtain and speedily got dressed. Emerging once more from the dressing room she walked up the cash register where the short blonde had made herself comfortable.  
Placing the clothes on the counter she smiled and turned back to Emily.

"Any particular reason you're asking me?" She ignored the blonde on the opposite side of the counter and kept her eyes on Emily, though the short blonde was occasionally looking between them as she scan the two items into the computer.

"I want to make it special... for her."

"So you like her then?" Hanna gave the woman her card before giving Emily her attention again, this time the blonde went through great efforts to make sure she didn't make eye contact with either girl when she realised how personal their conversation was.

"I do." She croaked, though she was definitely confident of her feelings it was a whole other story voicing them aloud to someone.

"Thank you." Hanna chimed as she grabbed the bag the woman had just packed for her.

"Have a good afternoon, ladies." She replied.

As they walked around the mall Hanna was about to stray into another shop when she suddenly spoke her thoughts.

"So... by special do you mean you're going to like use toys?"

"Oh my god, Han, what kind of question is that?" Emily rolled her eyes and almost covered her ears like a child when Hanna's question sunk in.

" _What_? You can't be such a prude Em, especially if you're thinking about making _that_ step." Hanna decided a music shop was the next stop to make, this pleased Emily greatly because music was something she understood.

"I don't need _toys_ ," Emily said confidently, though it was still a whisper. "Besides we're not old enough to even get into a store that sells 'toys."

Hanna chuckled and looked away, it wasn't a response Emily was expecting but none the less it wasn't a totally out of placed response for the blonde.

"Oh my goodness, you have a sex toy? How did you even- no wait, I don't want to know how you got it."

"Come on, it's a good story." Hanna pleaded as she turned from the CD rack and looked towards Emily who had found something she was interested in.

" _No_ , Hanna it's fine."

"Ugh, you're no fun." She groaned before moving over to the movie section of the store. "Okay, well if no toys are going to be used then maybe some sexy clothing is in order."

"Any excuse to do more shopping, hey?" Emily laughed while grabbing the box set of a television show she had noticed Alison watching on her laptop not too long ago, the quality was average and obviously downloaded but the only reason Alison had a bad copy was because she couldn't afford to buy it.

"I didn't know you like 'Friends'?" Hanna questioned as she inspected the item.

"I don't mind it but it's for Alison, she really likes it."

Emily weighed up how much the CD she wanted and the box set would be together and decided it was too much to spend, walking back to the CD rack she placed her choice where she found it and walked up to the cash register. Hanna watched as Emily happily chose Alison's wants over her own and smiled softly, that would be something Alison will never see and never learn to appreciate because Emily would be too proud to tell her. She could relate to what Emily was doing, that was something she would do for Caleb any day.  
As they walked out Emily felt strangely excited to give Alison her mini gift, she felt giddy and happy and it didn't pass Hanna by un noticed.

"So how about lingerie then?" Hanna encouraged as they walked idly by the specific shop, they paused out the front unsure of whether to answer. Hanna was overly excited to enter the store and did so without Emily, who was too shy to stand outside the store let alone walk in but when the blonde returned to her side to pull her inside she had no time to object.

"What about this?" Hanna dangled a set of thin coloured underwear in the air with both hands while Emily rubbed her head, she was recovering from the elaborate entrance the blonde had made when the woman who was working asked how they were.

"Han, I don't know if lingerie is what I'm after. Lingerie makes it feel planned; I just want it to happen."

"Right and it will and you'll just happen to be wearing sexy lace-lined matching bra and undies, that'll get Alison's motor running." Hanna winked before smiling at the attendant who asked if they needed help, she denied the offer politely before continuing their conversation.

"I don't need lingerie to do that." Emily mumbled and Hanna was surprised with the comment, usually the brunette would have been shocked by her previous statement but inside she had a sassy remark in return.

"Okay, so _wow_. I don't know why I'm more surprised, is it because that was an overly confident thing for you to say or was it because Alison's a horny rascal?" Hanna put the lingerie down and thought hard briefly before looking back at Emily.

"I can believe Alison being the sexually dominant one, I'm more surprised with your confidence." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Hey, what makes you think she's dominant?"

"Woah, sorry tiger." Hanna giggled as they continued the no destination walk. "Okay look, if you want it to be special you have to figure out what makes it special for her, what do you think she wants?"

"I don't know, well I do... but I don't. What if I'm not good enough for her?" Emily felt like she was going in circles inside her mind, everything seemed so cluttered and messy, making it impossible to think rationally about how she wanted to go about everything.

"Em be confident with yourself, I'm sure everything will be perfect." Hanna smiled sympathetically, she could understand Emily's panic, and it was natural when something so big was going to happen, or at least hoping it was going to happen.  
She was nervous and that was normal.

"Okay, no lingerie and no toys. Just you and her, together. That's all you need."

Emily nodded, happy with the decision, though it wasn't as though anything was ever being decided, she just needed the confidence boost from her best friend.

"Could you not tell the other's about this? I don't even know what's happening yet."

"Understood." Hanna smiled and they continued their late afternoon shopping.

-X-

The sun was setting by the time Emily had gotten home from shopping with Hanna, she didn't buy anything else besides the present for Alison and she felt oddly revived. It was hard to go shopping with Hanna and not buy things, the blonde was very convincing.  
The house was dark besides the small light above the kitchen stove that was left on no doubt by Pam. Emily was mildly surprised to not see her parents around but had remembered that her father was going away on a last minute fishing trip with his friends and her mother was spending the evening with her friends, no doubt drinking, so she probably wouldn't make it back that night.  
Smiling to herself Emily decided to finish some homework she had been too lazy to complete that week and went in search of some items she had planned for the evening ahead.  
She didn't know exactly when Alison would be home so she decided to prepare ahead, even if that night lead to nothing at all she was happy at the thought of being alone with Alison.  
It was just after nine when Emily heard a car pull up outside, her heart raced at the thought of Alison being home again, she was so excited to give her the DVD box set she had bought her that she had even put a small bow on top to resemble a present.  
She could hear the blonde saying goodnight and good luck to Noel before she heard footsteps up the front path. Rushing to the front door she opened it and smiled largely at the almost startled Alison.

"Hey you." She found the smile contagious when she turned to wave at Noel as he drove away.

"Hi." Emily smile grew before her hands grabbed Alison's and pulled her inside and into a deep passionate kiss.  
In a slightly belated response Alison's hands went to her cheeks before moving further into her hold, it was warm and welcoming and was exactly what the blonde needed.

"I missed you." Alison whispered between kisses.

"I missed you too." They kissed until Alison suddenly broke a part, stepping back in shyness before looking around her.

"Where are your parents?" She asked, slightly embarrassed.

"Out, we've got the house to ourselves."

"Do we?" She muttered seductively before pulling Emily in for a kiss.

"Hold on, I wanted to show you something." Emily pulled away reluctantly before pulling Alison into the lounge room where a few scented candles were lit and the television was waiting on the Itunes Movie menu, the lighting was dull besides the candles but it had a cosy atmosphere.

"What's all this?" Alison asked as Emily left her side and went to pick up the box set.

"Well since we can't go on a date at the moment I decided to bring the date to us. I've got popcorn and a movie, and I even got you a little present." She placed the gift before her and watched as Alison carefully inspected the small box.

"Friends? How did you know I liked it?"

"You fall asleep to that really bad copy; I thought maybe this would be nicer to fall asleep too."

Alison paused and looked at the ten season series, she knew it wasn't overly cheap to buy the whole set together and it made her heart melt that Emily was so willing to get it for her without even hesitating. Putting it down on the coffee table Alison took Emily's hands in her own and kissed both lightly.

"I love it, thank you."

"It was my pleasure."

They shared a moment of silence while adoring each other, Emily could swear she look forever in Alison bright blue eyes if she could, she could feel herself become calm just by gazing into them.

"What movie would you like to watch?" She out stretched her arm as a grand gesture for Alison to sit down.

They didn't watch the movie for long, in fact it was barely half way through the introduction when Alison began slowly playing with Emily's thigh which caused the brunette to begin an almost never ending make out session that was daring to lead to more.  
Emily wasn't sure whether or not to continue with her actions when Alison had boldly moved to straddle her, she sat comfortable on top of the brunette who engulfed her into a tight embrace and kissed her more passionately than she had anticipated, not that she was complaining.  
Without command Alison's hips began grinding against the brunette beneath her but without hesitation Emily reciprocated.  
Their lips connected in an explosion of fire and sparks and Emily couldn't help but let her hands guide underneath the blonde's shirt, caressing the skin as she passed it. Alison moaned into the touch, giving the brunette access to slip her tongue in her mouth, it was a dangerously exciting way to lose control.

"Do you want to?" Alison asked breathlessly as Emily's lips moved to her neck.

"Of course I want to." Emily muttered against the flesh of Alison's collar bone, biting down softly and causing her breath to hitch in her throat. "Do you want too?"

" _Yes_." She whimpered and it was enough have Emily lift her shirt above her head and throw it to the ground.

 **Okay I know I ended it in an odd spot but there is a point to it (well I'm hoping so anyways)!**

 **Also I had someone suggest doing a fanfic about Emily and Alison being in school and one of them being the teacher (Thanks Viviann for that lovely suggestion), I don't mind doing this but not until I've finished at least one of the current stories, mainly because I'm struggling but also, I have actually read an Emison fanfics a while ago and it was about this suggestion, however I can't seem to find the title I do remember the author seeming to give up half way through. I personally don't mind but I would like some feedback :) what do you guys think?**

 **A big shout out to my beautiful followers and the guests and a big shout out to the champion who always leaves me fantastic reviews ElsaFowl!  
Guys I really appreciate everything you say and I mean **_**everyone**_ **, these last couple of months have been really hard for me and when reviews are being left it really lifts me up.**

 **So thank you all so much 3**

 **-Aemstar**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Eeeexxxxxtrrraaaaa long chapter for my eeeexxxttrraaaa special readers and followers! Thanks so much for being so understanding and patient, all your lovely reviews make the writing worth it!**_

 _ **Anyways, enjoy!**_

 _ **Chapter Ten**_

Alison was the first to wake the next morning, the dull Rosewood morning light peeped slightly through the half closed shades, temporarily blinding her as she slowly adjusted to the change in light. She yawned and stretched slightly, forgetting that Emily was wrapped in her side, waking her as a result.

"Morning." Emily groaned, also getting the light in her eyes.

"Morning." Alison replied, suddenly feeling awkward which Emily noticed immediately.

"What's wrong?" She propped herself on her elbow and looked softly at the blonde beside her.

"Nothing." She murmured quickly and sat up, bringing some blankets to cover her bare body. She had just woken up from the most amazing experience and yet she didn't feel amazing, she couldn't tell if her head was playing tricks or if she was actually feeling distressed about what they had just done.  
Her mind doubted herself, _playing_ with her emotions as though it was what she wanted, it was confusing her. Did she want to feel like this about what she and Emily had just woken up from? Or was her mind manipulating her? The confusion was upsetting and distracting and it showed in her behaviour.

"Ali..." Emily tried as she just as quickly sat up and watched as Alison awkwardly got changed, going through great lengths to avoid the sheet falling from her body. "What happened?"  
She spoke again before standing from the bed and putting a bathrobe around herself, sensing Alison was just as uncomfortable with her nakedness as her own. Shyly Emily grabbed the first item of clothing she could find which was an old baggy t-shirt that was at least four sizes too big on her, handing it to Alison she looked away when the blonde gave up in her fluster search for clothes, giving her a chance to put the shirt on and also some slacks.

"Nothing." She repeated and turned to face Emily who was still looking away out of respect. When there was silence she turned to have Alison looking confused back at her, in an attempt to comfort her she reached for her hand but was quickly rejected when the blonde pulled away.

"Ali, what did I do? Did I hurt you?" She panicked. "Please talk to me."

"I... we... I wasn't..." Alison stuttered timidly but Emily tried to remain patient.

"Was... I not any good?" She doubted herself and quickly backed away, fearing it was the truth.

" _No_!" She stuttered quickly.

"Do you... regret it?" This was the question Emily fear the most but turned when Alison didn't speak, giving her an unspoken answer. "You said you wanted this, Alison!"  
Running her fingers through her hair in frustration Emily felt the combination of anger and confusion bubble in the pit of her stomach.

"You said you were ready."

"Well, I don't know if I was..." She murmured softly, in response Emily's mouth gaped opened in disbelief.

"I tried to stop it, you said it was okay. _Shit,_ this is so fucked." It was odd to hear Emily swear; even with such extreme words falling from her lips she still seemed innocent. "I just took something very precious from you Alison... and now you're telling me you weren't ready? God Ali, I can't take back what we just did."

She was pacing nervously back and forth, hoping that Alison was pulling some sick joke, praying that when she faced her once more she'd be smiling her trademark smirk.

"Emily, we both did this... don't you regret it?" Being addressed so formally made Emily nervous but she tried to remain calm.

" _No_ , not even for a second, what I do regret is forcing you into something you weren't ready for." She once more ran her fingers roughly through her hair and felt anger continue to burn dangerously deep within her; she felt she had screwed up big time.

"You didn't force me!" Alison's mouth was the one to gape open this time.

"If you weren't ready, then yes, I did." Emily finally turned, her eyes watery with tears of anger, hurt and mystification, the combination of feelings troubled her greatly; this was _not_ how she saw the morning going.

"It's not like that." She mumbled, her head shying down when she realised how upset Emily was. She hadn't thought this through and she definitely understood why Emily was so hurt, her thoughts were all over the place.

"Then how is it exactly?" Emily muffled as she grabbed her clothes from the floor and began skilfully dressing herself without showing any of her body, afraid to even display even the slightest of her naked skin. She stumbled around on one foot as she put her jeans on but faced away when revealing herself seemed necessary.

"That's what I thought." She muttered bitterly when Alison couldn't find any rational functioning words to mash into a suitable response.

"Where are you going?" The blonde finally managed as Emily grabbed her car keys and made her way to the door.

"I'm going out." It wasn't explanatory; it was a sarcastic and unnecessary answer that didn't make Alison feel any better.

-X-

"Hey, you weren't scheduled to work today." Sam poked her head out of the door that she had been keeping locked while she got ready to open her shop for the day, her expression puzzled.

"I know." Emily was looking down at her feet, unsure of what to say.

"Is everything okay?" Sam is concerned when she realised Emily's red cheeks and puffy wet eyes.

"I just needed... I don't know. You're the person I thought of." She mumbles as she whips away her tears.

"What happened?" Sam moved aside allowing Emily access to the closed store, as she stumbled in she continued straightening herself up while her friend locked the door again.

"Alison and I had sex." She blurted out, making no attempt to dance around the topic partly out of exhaustion, however Sam's reaction was unexpected it wasn't out of character. Her raised eyebrows and half gaped expression stunned Emily to silence.

"Isn't that a good thing?" She encouraged when Emily continued to be stuck with silence.

"Not if she regrets it." She began pacing immediately when her feelings of confusion were replaced with regret. Sam watched, concerned, but didn't force the brunette to stop.

"Oh..." She mutters, understanding Emily's emotions. "Well was she a virgin before you?"

"Yes, that's why I feel so awful." Emily massaged her forehead hoping that the motion would somehow make everything better while also hoping it would make her growing head ache diminish.

"Shouldn't both of you be like... over the moon? You two are crazy about each other."

"Well not Alison, she just regrets it." Emily muttered while continuing to pace, she was bitter and upset but also hurt that she had been so reckless. She felt like she had betrayed Alison for not being more careful, for not being more considerate but also for how she reacted too.

"Morning after guilt, it happens to a lot of people, Emily. Talking to me isn't going to change Alison's mind. She's probably regretting it more now that she's alone with her thoughts." Sam made an excellent point, causing Emily to stop in her repeating tracks and look at the knowledgeable young woman.

"Was I wrong to leave her?" She whispered, feeling even worse for what she had done.

"No, you're allowed to be hurt but you can fix this. I don't think she regrets it but even if she does you guys need to talk it out." Emily processed Sam's words, she was smart and very convincing, though it wasn't as though she didn't know this already she just needed someone to kick her into gear and remind her that sometimes things aren't always easy.

"Go on," Sam began when Emily's lips merged into a soft smile, "She needs you."

"Thanks Sam." Emily headed outside without another word and quickly got into her car, driving home faster than she'd care to admit. Bursting through the front door feel ashamed for leaving Alison in the first place she called to find out where she was, surprised however to have the blonde calling from the kitchen.

"Hey I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left-" She stop abruptly mid sentence when she realised Alison wasn't alone. "Jessica." She greeted with displeasure, forgetting her pleasantries since they weren't necessary for the older DiLaurentis.

"Hello, Emily." She muttered just as bitterly in response, her voice silked laced with perhaps more discontentment than Emily's.

"What are you doing here?" She walked to Alison's side immediately, only taking her eyes off the older woman once to inspect Alison, she was distressed and her eyes were wet but it seemed too hard attempt to wipe the evidence away.

"That's no way to treat your guest, Emily." Jessica mocked.

"You're no guest of mine, I'd like you to leave or I'm calling the police." She threatened darkly while keeping herself safely between Jessica and Alison, protecting the blonde from her already enraged mother.

"What are they going to do? Alison let me in."

"That is not true." Alison finally spoke but her voice was so soft her mother didn't even think to take her words seriously.

"Who are they going to believe? A child? Or the adult?" Jessica continued to mock.

"Actually I think they'll believe the straight A's student over the drug addicted parent who is violating their restrictions set by the law themselves." Emily said confidently, causing Jessica's smirk to transform into a sour thin line. "So I think it would be best that you get out."  
Emily almost growled at Jessica but she didn't budge.

"Charlotte is being released." Jessica directed at Alison, ignoring Emily completely. In response the blonde froze and she looked questionably between them, she decided however not to ask until later.

"That's... not good. She needs to stay where she is." Alison's hand went to Emily's and squeezed tightly in fear, she hadn't heard from or about her sister in almost a year.

"What an awful thing to say, Alison." Jessica gasped.

"I love her Mum, but she's not well. She needs to stay where she is." Alison wasn't facing Emily but the brunette was under the impression that she was lying; it was the way she spoke, quiet and timid and her voice cracked slightly, a common occurrence when the blonde lied.

"How can you say that?" Jessica's growing anger frightened Emily, it seemed as though she was losing control and she didn't know if she was strong enough to protect Alison from her mother, not if she was under the effect of drugs.

"It's true, there's a reason she's in there." Alison was trying to be confident but with Jessica losing control quickly it was hard, Emily was holding tightly onto the scared girl beside her, providing her with a sense of a comfortable safety, even if she wasn't safe at all.

"I should have put you in there instead, you're the sick one." Jessica spat hatefully at the blonde and Emily had finally reached her patience limit.

"You are leaving now, get out." Emily was just as mad as Jessica but she was hiding it with a control the older woman didn't seem to have any concept of.

"How long have you been sexually assaulting my daughter, Emily? Hmm?" Jessica ignored Emily's demand and instead continued her mocking behaviour with a snide smirk.

" _What_ , sexually assaulting? Are you crazy?" Alison exclaimed loudly, her head shooting up faster than a speeding bullet.

"You're under age Alison and there is no way you have such messy hair from a rough night of _sleeping_ , I know you're going to try and lie about it but you're wearing her clothes for goodness sake. I'm not stupid." Jessica scoffed, though Emily was bitterly thinking that she was indeed not too bright she decided not to push the infuriated woman any further.

"How could you even say such a disgraceful thing? She didn't _rape_ me or assault me, there was no force, I wanted it."

"You don't know what you want Alison, you're just a child." Jessica shook her head lazily at her daughter, as if the conversation was somehow boring her. Emily wanted to interject but she sensed Alison needed to do this on her own.

"I'm almost eighteen! I know exactly what I want and I consented to it, that is the very opposite of forcing me and for your information, not that it's got anything to do with you but it was the best decision I ever made and the best experience of my life. So get off your drug-infested high horse and get out of this home. I pray Charlotte doesn't get released from that place because that means she'll be safe from ever having to be dragged into your messy excuse of a life." Alison's words were strong but Emily could hear the hurt in her voice, she could hear the blonde suppressing cries and tears but she remained strong and stood tall.

"She's coming home and you can't do anything about it." Jessica folded her arms across her chest, trying to think of what to say in order to win this inevitably losing fight.

"She'll go back; she knows she's safe from you when she's in there." Emily watched as Jessica struggled to find a rebuttal, she looked almost panicky but she did well to quickly rid of the emotion.

"You disgrace, you're no daughter of mine! You're just a disappointing slut of a child that couldn't get over being scared of the dark." Jessica spat evilly at Alison and the words cut deep in her chest, she felt so hurt by her mother's words that she was struck with silence.

"Hey!" Emily yelled in anger but she was joined by another voice, her mother to her surprise was standing fiercely in the kitchen door frame, looking ready to pounce at Jessica.

"Get out of my house, Miss DiLaurentis. You've definitely out stayed your welcome." Pam stood in front of Emily and Alison to defend them but the fight was clearly over.

"Fine, keep the slut; she's been corrupt beyond repair now because of your pitiful excuse of an off-spring anyway." Jessica departed the kitchen before Pam could retaliate, though Emily was quick to hold her mother back just in case she decided to act further.  
The front door slammed loudly causing Alison to jump, tears were falling rapidly down her face, her eyes were so wet Emily was sure the blonde wouldn't have any vision but surprisingly she was quiet, she made no sound and looked like the lifeless girl that she was the day she first arrived in Rosewood. It scared Emily.  
Slowly she reached for the quiet girl, afraid to terrify or upset her further but the moment her finger tips touched her skin Alison erupted in an avalanche of sobs and tears.

"I don't regret it Em, I don't know why I would even say that!" She was crying hysterically into Emily's chest and it pulled at the brunette's heart.  
Pam excused herself quietly to make sure Jessica was really gone but both girls seemed oblivious to her departure, which she could understand.

"I know Ali, I'm sorry I left you here by yourself. That was selfish of me, I'm so sorry." She held tightly onto Alison, fearing the blonde would fall to pieces if she let go. "You're not any of what your mother says."  
She comforted while soothing over the blonde's hair. "Don't listen to her."

"I don't want to go back to California; I want to stay with you." Alison sobbed helplessly as Emily continued to hold her.

"Whatever you want baby, whatever you want." She kissed Alison's forehead and a time passed they made their way to the lounge in the living room. Pam seemed to be nowhere but they were still recovering from the whole ordeal that neither had the energy to go look for her.

"I didn't know you had a sister." Emily spoke carefully, sensing it was a sensitive topic.

"I don't see her often, she hates Mum and Dad a lot so she doesn't go by their last name but yes, I have a sister." Alison was huddled softly into Emily shoulder while she held her close, rubbing her arms softly.

"Why didn't you tell me about her?"

"It's hard to talk about her." She shrugged.

"Hard how?" Emily couldn't help her curiosity.

"She went through a lot and Jason and I had to watch her go through it while Mum and Dad pretty much threw her aside. She's in a mental hospital now, so I consider her safe from our parent's wrath."

"Why is she in a mental hospital?"

"Well she had been suffering from depression for a long time but Mum said she would get over it, one night Charlotte tried to kill herself when Mum had lost her shit." Alison seemed to speak distantly of the story, as though it wasn't really her life or her experiences, Emily wondered briefly how long the drama had been going on but figured it was long enough to cause a lot of resentment in the family.

"Is she okay?" She encouraged.

"She is now and she calls when she can but I know she's safe there until she's old enough to take care of herself and won't need Mum or Dad." Alison spoke confidently.

"So you don't think she's sick?"

"No, sick is a strong word, I just said that so Mum didn't try and pull her out of the hospital quicker. She's definitely in pain and is scared of our parents so the moment she goes home she's either going to run away or... try again."

Emily understood what Alison was inferring and she could definitely understand the concern when Jessica DiLaurentis is involved, she was an out of control tornado that was jumping recklessly from one emotion to the next, taking down everything in her path.

"Alison dear, I just got in contact with your social worker and she said that Charlotte is doing well but she isn't being released just yet, you're mother must have lied." Pam entered the room so quietly both Emily and Alison almost jumped at her voice, however with her calming voice Emily thought that her mother couldn't scare anyone, well not until today anyway. "Why would your mother lie about something like that?"

"Because she tries to manipulate me to get what she wants, she's always done that." Alison answered casually as she leant further into Emily's shoulder.  
As Pam tried to think of a rational thought as to why Jessica would be so _irrational_ she looked over at Emily and sighed, she was exhausted and the day hadn't even started.

"Emily, your father is coming home a little earlier today. I gave him a quick call and he said he wants to be here and try and sort out everything that happened." Pam made her way to face the two girls and it was the first time she had decided to observe them, what they were wearing, how they were acting and it surprised her that, from what Jessica had said Alison didn't seem regretful. She was acting as normal as you could in such a situation, she was indeed wearing Emily's baggy clothes but that was a clear sign of how comfortable she was with Emily, not that she was regretful.

"I'm sorry my mother ruined his trip." Alison was the first to speak when she realised Pam's curious eyes wandering over the both of them.

"Don't be sorry for something you didn't do, dear." Pam smiled softly and Emily nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to make a coffee, would you girls like one?" She offered and they both nodded sluggishly, thinking maybe a coffee would be a good pick-me-up. "Em, can you help me?"  
Pam tried to sound as casual as possibly but even she could tell how obvious her motive was when both girls gave her a concerning look, however moments later Emily stood and handed Alison the television remote.

"Choose a movie, I'll be right back." As Emily gave Alison a quick smile she departed moments later to head for the kitchen, with the constant thought of 'this can't be good, this can't be good,' on repeat in her head.

"How long had you been listening to me and Jessica?" She blurted out within seconds of entering the room, giving Pam no chance to speak the real reason she wanted to talk with Emily alone.

"Long enough, sweetie." Pam was already busying herself with the coffee machine but with her subtle and much more sensitive way of saying 'I heard everything' Emily already felt less intimidated, even if her mother was struggling to voice what she actually wanted to ask.

"How long had Jessica been in the house?" She diverted the conversation awkwardly.

"I don't know, she was here when I returned home."

"Why did you leave in the first place? She asked curiously.

"Alison and I had a fight this morning, I got upset and reacted childishly, I needed time to think so I went to see Sam." Emily realised now that though Sam was great with giving advice she shouldn't have let herself get to the point of frustration where she felt the only option was to run away from the problem, she was beginning to feel more regretful at that revelation.

"What did you fight about?" Pam was trying to be her usual supportive self while trying to understand Emily's strange need to leave, she could understand getting frustrated but normally Emily was one to sort things out, she found the behaviour slightly out of character.

"She... we... got upset. I don't know, I doubted myself and it didn't make me feel particularly good." She stuttered around the subject, releasing that her mother was trying to slowly move towards that destination of conversation, without actually vocalising it."

"Doubt yourself how, sweetie?" Pam encouraged relentlessly.

" _Mum_ , do I have to say it? You heard enough from Jessica." Emily groaned with embarrassment, wishing the conversation away.

"Yes and I'd much rather hear it from you than her." She shrugged, trying to be as casual as the parenting fibres in her body would allow her to be. "You're my daughter."

"That's _exactly_ my point." Emily exclaimed while rubbing her eyes. When her mother's eyebrows raised expectedly at her she gave up in her persistent endeavour to dance around the topic.

"We had sex last night and this morning she said she regretted it, I felt awful and the moment Jessica brought up..." She paused and felt tears well in her eyes. "R _ape_... I felt worse. I thought Alison wanted it, Jessica made me doubt myself and it felt like she made Alison doubt her feelings for me."

She sniffed again but didn't let any tears fall, the only reason Pam had been so forceful with the conversation was because she knew how much Emily was struggling with it all.

"She said she didn't though, remember? Just before I left. She is just confused Emmy, you've had time to come to terms with your sexuality. Maybe Alison hasn't." Pam made an excellent point.

"I know Mum; I thought it through when I was out." She paused, recognising her mother's behaviour very interesting and out of character. "I screwed up by leaving her, I know I shouldn't have."

"No sweetie, I didn't mean that, I just... it's a weird reaction from the recent events, she seems to really like you." Pam was over thinking the situation more than Emily had.

"It's hard but I understand, she's allowed to feel things." Emily sighed before looking towards the living room. "I should probably go back and talk to her." She turned to leave however forgetting about the coffees her mother called her back, after she had grabbed them she turned to make her escape from the awkward conversation when Pam spoke once more.

"Emily, I have a request."She swallowed and turned slowly, afraid of what her request was going to be, though she had an inclination.

"Yeah?" She almost whispered, her voice was caught in the back of her throat.

"Can you two not have... _relations_ while your father and I are in the house? I'd say, you know, don't do it all at but... well you've beaten me to that." Pam was obviously embarrassed while still trying to remain calm but she cleared her throat to push her struggles away.

"Did you just say _relations_?" Emily accidentally blurted uncontrollably with a laugh and Pam blushed a bright red. "Oh goodness, that's the funniest thing I've ever heard."  
Pam raised her eyebrows once again with an unimpressed expression and Emily quickly tried to calm herself.

"Hey, I held out until you and dad was out of the house last night, didn't I?" She laughed with her crude humour and her mother's face scrunched up at her lack of delicateness.

"Oh dear, Emily, _thank you_. I'm so glad you could manage to _hold out_ , lord knows you haven't held out for the last seventeen years." She said sarcastically.

"Hey, you were the one that wanted to talk about it." Emily put her hands up defensively but in a joking manner, she had missed the banter her and her mother had shared, granted this banter was a slightly out of the ordinary part of their usual conversations but it worked never the less.

"Yes this is true. Look just keep you and your hormones under control around Alison, I don't particularly want to walk in on you two."

"Geez Mum, I have a little bit of restraint." Pam averted her eyes and chuckled playfully. "What?" Emily asked curiously.

"Your Grandmother would find us very different." She mused casually, her expression under readable.

"Oh god, what does _that_ mean?"

"Let's just say she never liked to knock on doors before she entered the room, even if it was my own house and she was walking through the front door."

"You mean... she saw you and Dad...?" Emily felt her stomach stitch before Pam nodded with a large smirk slapped across her face. "Oh _Mum_! I did not need to hear that!"

Emily wanted to cover her ears but with the coffee mugs in her hands it wasn't possible, causing a small chuckled to slip from her mother's lips.

"Then you'll understand that I don't need to hear you and Alison getting _busy_ , seem fair?"

"Well that hardly seems fair, how am I supposed to get that image out of my head?" Emily rolled her eyes while shifting on her feet awkwardly; trying to get the image of her parents... well she was trying to rid the conversation from her thoughts.

"Replace it with this image; _that_ was how you were created." She winked and shrugged proudly, understanding and enjoying how easy it was to stir her daughter.

" _Okay_!" Exclaimed loudly, officially finished with the teasing Pam was enjoying so much. " _So_ I'm gonna go back to the lounge room and _uh_ possibly throw up on the way." She went to turn and called on her way out, "Or, have you got more gross stories about relations and secrets up your sleeve?"

"I think that's all." She smiled before calling back.

"You poor thing." Alison whispered when Emily sat by her side again, handing her the coffee and then making herself comfortable.

"You heard?" Emily blushed with embarrassment.

"Well most of it, I have really good hearing."

" _Apparently_." She said as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"You like doing that, don't you?" Alison mused as she sipped slowly at her coffee, enjoying the warm liquid slipping soothingly down her throat, it was definitely the pick-me-up she needed.

"Doing what?" Emily asked confused, and Alison copied the motion with her own hair. "I didn't realise I did it."  
Though the moment she said it she had the urge to run her fingers through her head again.

"I think it's cute." She placed their coffee mugs on the small table in front of them and her hands went to Emily's neck to pull her closer, only to have a hand stop her seconds later.

"Didn't you hear? We have to _restrain_ ourselves." She chuckled sarcastically.

"Don't mock me!" Pam called from the kitchen playfully and Alison laughed. "Alison's not the only one with good hearing."  
Pam warned as she walked through the living room and made her way out the front to sit and drink her coffee in peace. Emily was mildly surprised by her mother's comment but at the same time she wasn't surprised at all, Alison however found it amusing but didn't feel much like making any comments, especially not after everything that had happened that morning.  
Emily noticed Alison's mood drop quickly and she was just as quick to assist in comforting her, grabbing her hands she placed them back around her neck and smiled.

"Where were we?" She encouraged happily.

" _Restraining_ ourselves I believe." Alison giggled and she found it infectious.

"Come here." She grabbed the top of Alison's shirt and pulled her close. "I'll give you _restraint_."

"Miss Fields, are you talking dirty?" The blonde mumbled between kisses before getting distracted by soft hands moving up and down her body.

" _Maybe_." Emily replied before pushing her backwards slowly onto the couch, keeping her hands either side of Alison's head while her body fit perfectly between the blonde's legs. It was a very tempting position, one slightly movement, one slight thrust and Alison was sure an uncontrolled moan would fall from her lips and Emily was aware of this.

"What are you thinking?" Alison whispered gently, enjoying how protected she felt with Emily above her.

"I'm thinking many things." She whispered back, while placing a small kiss on Alison's forehead.

"Like what?"

"I'm thinking, how beautiful you are, and how lucky I am. I'm thinking about last night and how perfect it was; well how perfect I thought it was-"

"It _was_ perfect." Alison interjected, recognising Emily's doubt immediately. "I'm sorry I made you doubt that."

"Was it perfect, Ali?" Alison nodded, liking how intimate the conversation was, she didn't realise how innocent such a position could be even when the temptation to cause a moan was definitely real. "Did I hurt you?"

"Only a little at the beginning, but it's supposed to hurt a little." She paused smiling when the imaged flashed through her mind, Emily's hands were tracing slowly down her stomach, passed her waist and down to where her body was begging to be touched. It was terrifying but exciting at the same time, she felt so ready to have Emily enter her, to have Emily as her first and to feel everything in her body contract into one large eruption of a release. She was shaking with anticipation and Emily could see it, the soft light of her laptop on the bedside table was the only source but there was barely any sound. Alison had a perfect view of the girl above her as she slowly massaged her wet folds; it wasn't until Emily readied herself to entered Alison that her eyes closed in anticipation.

"Ali?" Emily broke Alison away from her thoughts. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I was just... reliving." She smiled softly.

"Did I hurt you any other time?" She repeated when Alison hadn't heard her because of her day dreaming.

"No, that was it. It only hurt for a second and then it started to feel good. _Really_ good." She hummed at the recollection and Emily smiled. "Did I hurt you?"

"It was the same for me." Her arms were beginning to ache from holding her body above Alison for so long but she didn't want to move, especially from the tempting position she was in.  
She couldn't help herself, the temptation was too much, so slowly her hips shifted and her body pressed against the blonde beneath her. To quickly muffle the inevitably predictable moan after constant but soft thrusts Emily passionately kissed her, letting her tongue slip in her mouth when her moans didn't suppress.

"That's not fair." Alison whimpered helplessly.

"Did I ever say I was going to play fair?" Emily continued kissing and thrusting in unison. "Besides, there's no fun in playing fair."

"Emily..." Alison moaned and her arms wrapped around Emily's neck, her body aching for more but her mind screaming for her emotions to calm, considering they _were_ supposed to be restraining themselves.

"Yeah?" Emily puffed slightly, her head moving into Alison's neck before kissing the skin softly.

"What happened to restraining ourselves?" She suppressed another moan before gripping her fingers against Emily's back when she slowed her thrusts slightly.

"I forgot what I was agreeing to when I said I'd keep myself under control around you." She softly bit Alison's neck before sucking it soothingly.

"Hey..." Alison chuckled before grabbing Emily's cheeks causing her to focus on only her face instead of her actions as they were becoming almost impossible to resist. "I think you're incredibly sexy but if you don't stop you know what the outcome will be."

"I would think that would be the whole point." Emily whispered before trying to continue but moments later she could feel Alison becoming uncomfortable, not uncomfortable with her but more the situation, Pam was just outside and less than five minutes earlier she had given Emily a lecture about behaving. She could understand why Alison was conflicted. "I'm sorry, I'll stop."

She kissed Alison's head before sitting up and pulling her against her chest, she wasn't offended but instead understanding.

"It's not that I want you to stop..." Alison whispered while playing with some of Emily's stray hairs. "I want to continue this."

"And we shall." Emily promised. " _Now_ , which movie?"

Picking up the remote she handed it to Alison once more and took her coffee from the table, sipping she watched as the blonde flick through the movies, she had a soft smile that twitched up or down at each selection, she found it adorable but chose not to make any comments.

"What about this one?" Alison looked up at Emily questionably who was completely absorbed in watching her that she hadn't even heard the question.

"Hmm?" She replied quickly when Alison's curious smirk finally caught her attention.

"Getting a little distracted, are we?" She giggled before turning closer into Emily's chest.

Emily's arm was over stretched on the back of the couch while Alison made herself comfortable, sipping at her coffee Emily looked up at the television and read the title, raising her eyebrows in surprise when she saw the genre.

"I didn't think thriller movies were your thing." She quirked an eyebrow curiously.

"This is supposed to be good." Alison defended quickly, though she sounded hesitant. "It's got Megan Fox in it, I really like her."

"Whatever you want." Emily shrugged and took another swig of her coffee, feeling much better after the hot refreshment even after Jessica's appearance that morning.  
They had made it less than half way through the movie when Emily felt completely confused by the plot, granted Megan Fox was acting amazingly well, and so was Amanda Seyfried as the other main character but Emily was spending most of the movie trying to figure out why Alison wanted to watch it so much.

"What's this movie called again?" She yawned.

"Jennifer's Body." Alison shifted under Emily's arm and laid her head against her lap. Moments later and she grabbed Emily's hand and held it close to her chest while softly rubbing the skin, she felt at ease and comfortable even during a movie that made you jump slightly.  
Neither girl would consider this movie scary, it had some interesting moments that could be questioned as "jumpy" but nothing that would make Emily sleep any less at night.

"This really doesn't seem like your movie." Emily noted softly when she saw Megan Fox looking exceptionally messed up and covered in blood after brutally killing someone.

"Just watch it, Miss Commentary." She giggled and soon enough the movie cut to a scene where the two girls where in bed together, well Megan Fox was standing over Amanda Seyfried and scared the hell out of her. As the two characters talked Emily began curious as the scene progressed and seconds later they shared a very confusing kiss.  
Her eyebrows raised and Alison stopped playing with her hand, she was so engrossed with the scene that it was like she forgot where she was. She looked down at her, her eyes were filled with curiosity and bewilderment, it was like she had never seen two women kiss before. Emily immediately understood, Alison was exploring.

"Ali..." She began and Alison left her entrancement, feeling embarrassed for the inevitable interrogation Emily was about to undertake.

"Yeah?" She whispered softly.

"Had you ever kissed a girl before me?" Emily was soft with the question, they had discussed being intimate with ours but kissing hadn't even been an inquiry, it intrigued Emily to see Alison so consumed by a movie kiss.

"No." She answered honestly, her voice a mere whisper as though she was ashamed of the response.

"There's nothing wrong with that." Emily actually smiled at the thought of being pretty much every first for the blonde.

"I've never kissed anyone before." Alison's voice was so soft Emily wasn't even sure she heard correctly.

"Not even a guy?"

"No, why do you sound so surprised?" She was almost offended but at the same time Emily's surprise amused her, was she that much of a cliché?

"Because you're stunning."

"No one was ever convincing enough for me to want to kiss them." Alison shrugged and continued watching the movie, trying to suppress the fact that Emily probably thought she was too innocent to be with her.

"I like that." The brunette said suddenly, obviously proud instead of Alison's first initial thought. She honestly thought Emily thought less of her, thought that she was the kind of girl that went around kissing random people for the hell of it or to stay popular.

"Really?" She sat up, her cheeks a soft red.

"Of course, why would I object to being your first for everything?" Emily smiled happily, her eyes beaming the warm chocolate brown that made her look so free and full of life. Her smile was infectious and delightfully enlightening, her reaction wasn't what Alison expected which she sensed.

"I thought you thought I was... a slut or something." She rested against her shoulder in an attempt to hide from the brunette's searching eyes but she was quickly placed in Emily's warm lap with her hands on either cheek.

"I would never think that, I think you're amazing and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to share your first experiences with you. There are many people in this world that would jump at that chance Ali, but you chose _me_. That counts for something. How lucky am I to have someone so beautiful, who waited for so long, to give up a very special part of them with me? You didn't have to do that. You could've found someone better, someone prettier, someone smarter but you didn't. It was me and I will never forget that. _That_ was what last night meant to me, you giving yourself to me in the most vulnerable way, hoping I would cherish it, you trusted me enough in hopes that I would keep that protected and sacred." She paused to take a deep breath and quickly place a small kiss on Alison's forehead.

"Just as I gave myself to you, in hopes that you would cherish it and keep it sacred from others. I trust you Ali, more than I ever thought I could trust anyone. I've only known you for three months but I felt like I've known for a life time, this..." She indicated between them, "Has got to mean something and I will continue to protect you and cherish you, no matter what way it is, whether as a partner or a friend, I'll be here to care for you in your darkest times, when it feels like the world has turned its back on you I will be there to hold your hand. I will be there to help you through those hard times, when your Mum is around, when Charlotte is released, I'll be there. No matter what."

It was the most romantic thing a person could say to another and Alison honestly felt like she would never hear such words from anyone, let alone someone she truly cared for. Emily's words were the words of a fairy tale, a book or a movie but she never felt like this would be something that couldn't happen in real life, especially not to her, not after everything in her past with her family and her depression. She surely felt like there was some catch, like fate was playing with her but she didn't care, the promises Emily was making was giving her a reason to continue with her life, to continue with school and education. Emily had given her a reason to continue even when she felt like doing absolutely nothing at all. And _that_ had to count for something.

"But what about my family? My sleeping problems? My depression?" She was full of doubt and it was hard for Emily to watch Alison's thoughts torture herself.

"Those things may be a part of you Ali, but that doesn't make you who you are. Your family may never change, or they might, you never know but you've got to work on yourself. _You_ are the most important person in your life. Your sleeping problems may or may not get better but if you're having a bad dream I'll be there to hold you close and keep the monsters away, whether they be the monsters of your past or the monsters in your mind, I'll keep you safe." She was now holding Alison's hands firm but still gently, it was comforting to have Emily be so confident with her words.

"Depression is nothing to be ashamed of Ali, you can't help it. Don't listen to your mother. You have people who will care for you always, who understand what it's like to have demons inside them; you need to know Ali that you're not alone. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

Alison smiled softly as a stray tear fell from her eye, it was a happy tear but Emily caught it and wiped it away.

"You could run the world Alison, if you wanted to. We'll have everything, just you wait."

For someone who had grown up with almost nothing Alison didn't believe Emily at first but as she watched the brunette speak she was sure she would believe everything she said, every syllable that slipped from Emily's lips were soothingly entrancing and she felt happy knowing that she had someone so amazing to take care of her.

-X-

"Thanks for dinner Dad." Emily yawned after placing her plate on the coffee table next to Alison's. They had been camped out on the lounge all day until Wayne had gotten home from his trip, he had asked questions about Jessica but decided to talk with Pam instead of bothering the two girls. It seemed they had finally calmed down enough and he didn't want to ruin that.  
After speaking with Alison's social worker they had decided to keep their eyes and ears ready for Jessica to appear again but hoping she wouldn't, for now however it seemed there was nothing they could do.  
Everyone was too tired to bother making dinner so they had ordered pizza and spent the whole evening watching movies.

"No problem sweetie. Alison you can pick the next movie." He chirped and Pam stood to take everyone's plates, helping his wife Wayne took Emily's empty coke can and offered her another one, nodding she looked over at Alison quizzically if she wanted one, she also nodded and he turned to head into the kitchen only to quickly turn back again.

"Oh, as long as it's not Magic Mike." He chuckled but both girls knew he was being serious; he _really_ didn't like that movie.

"That's okay, I don't really like it, I was just testing the waters when I first got here."

"Ah, yes. Smart girl." He chuckled and left the room.

"How are you feeling?" Emily question quickly while they were alone.

"I'm okay, tired but I'm enjoying myself too much to go to bed."

"One more movie and then bed?" Emily bargained, she wasn't tired at all but she didn't want to push Alison too much, she knew sleep was important.

"Deal."

Half way through the movie Pam had excused herself to go to bed, she had been exhausted since that morning after her night out with her friends and had been too busy during the day to fit in a small nap. Wayne followed her less than ten minutes later explaining he was tired from his fishing trip, which left Emily and Alison to their own devices, Wayne wasn't even all the way up the stairs yet when Alison wrapped herself in Emily's side.  
Emily couldn't resist herself, her hands quickly but subtly snaked their way down Alison's back and to her waist where they shifted the fabric of her shirt to softly play with her smooth and very tempting skin. She moaned slightly at the contact and moved closer to Emily, she felt so at ease in her hold that she was sure she could melt.  
As Emily's skilful hands continued to play innocently she felt her own hands move underneath the shorts the brunette had changed into after her shower.

"You don't waste time, do you?" Emily whispered as Alison massaged her inner thigh.

"On the contrary, I enjoy taking my time." She mused before repeated the small pattern on Emily's skin. It was torturous after five minutes but Emily tried her best to pretend she wasn't bothered; however this only gave Alison the incentive to up the ante and move slightly further up her thigh. It wasn't until then she realised Emily's hands had somehow made it to her chest, she had been so focused on her own actions that she didn't even notice one hand on her back skilfully undoing her bra and the other moving one strap down.

"Look at that," Emily giggled playfully before slowly pushing the strap further down, fortunately the looseness of Emily's baggy shirt around Alison's thin body granted the brunette access for both hands to effortlessly fit underneath the fabric and continue removing the bra from Alison's body. "I can take my time too."

She teased and she was right, the way she slowly removed one strap caused a soft friction against Alison's skin that caused a deep tension in the pit of her stomach.

"Restraining isn't for us... is it?" Alison puffed sarcastically, knowing Emily had no intentions to stop and nor did she because deep down after the long morning she had endured she was very much ready for a release.  
Quickly Emily's hands darted underneath Alison's shirt and gripped her waist with a gentle dominance, causing a gasp to hit deep in her chest.

"Well it's definitely not for me, _especially_ when I'm around you." Their lips were inches apart and as she moved to kiss the blonde was quickly pushed back into the lounge and straddled, Alison had a wicked smirk taking up a good percentage of her face and Emily loved it.

"Is that your sweet way of saying I turn you on?" She whispered seductively and Emily managed to nod through her moan when Alison's hands stray down her chest, rubbing against the fabric.

"I believe so." She whispered back when Alison's lips attacked her neck hungrily.

Emily slowly let her hands wrap around Alison's back and finish removing the bra from her body, slipping it out from underneath her shirt Emily placed it aside and quickly put her hands back underneath the fabric while Alison continued to suck and kiss at her neck.  
Her hands strayed up and down rhythmically, it was soothing against Alison's skin and the motion sent sharp fireworks free in her stomach while her hands eventually made the slow progress to her breast. The temptation to have Alison then and there was over bearing but she resist, she wanted to prove she could take her time and enjoy teasing just as much as the young woman above her.

"Em..." Alison muffled a moan when her hands stopped just below her breast. "Please..." She pleaded desperately before thrusting against Emily's hips.

"Please, what?" She continued teasing.

"Keep going." She was breathless but still sounded confident, it was hard to resist Alison especially when she was moaning and thrusting against her.

"Is that what you want?" She couldn't help but tease, it was so infectious and it drove her crazy just by using the right words.

" _Yes_." She moan before bucking her head back in reaction when Emily's rewarding hands finally made contact with her breasts, her index fingers and thumbs playing delicately with Alison's already erect nipples. " _Fuck_."  
It slipped from her lips but Emily found it strangely arousing the way she made Alison loss control just with the right touch.

"How does that feel?" She whispered seductively, knowing it would drive Alison crazy.

"Don't... stop." Alison almost had no breath left in her; she was so aroused and focused on the tiniest movements that everything Emily did was so significant that it drove her crazy.

"As you wish." Emily murmured a soft laugh before slowly lifting up the baggy shirt that was the only barrack between her and Alison's chest; she moved it so slowly against her skin that it caused the blonde to buck further back.  
Emily only lifted the shirt just above the blonde's breast, it was enough access for her lips to quickly dart to the soft skin of Alison's chest, she felt so turned on by the simplest touch and it drew her to a point where touching wasn't enough anymore.  
Subconsciously her own hand slipped down her naked chest towards her waist. Emily didn't immediately recognise the action until she felt Alison's hand skim her arm, she continued kissing he blonde's chest but watched her hands, she didn't know why but she found it arousing to see Alison feel the need to fulfil her pleasure.  
As she continued to watch Alison subtly move her hand south in hopes she wouldn't notice she timed her lips perfectly, the moment the blonde's hand slipped underneath her slacks Emily sucked on one of her nipples. It caused a sharp gasp to follow through her chest before her hand quickly with drew, her heart skipped a beat and instead her hands wrapped around Emily's neck for support.

"That's _my_ job." Emily instructed before quickly lying Alison on her back against the lounge. Sitting above her, her legs either side keeping the blonde in place Emily smirked with a greedy smile and moved the baggy shirt further up Alison's body. One hand was quick to grasp onto her breast while the other hand moved down her waist.

"Is this what you want?" She continued as she placed her hand underneath Alison's slacks but over her underwear.

"God, yes." Alison's hands went to Emily's neck once more, pulling her close she was sure there couldn't be any space between them.

"I can feel how turned on you are." Emily cooed in her ear as she rubbed against the already wet fabric of Alison's underwear.  
Her confidence made Alison moan, it was so desirable to be treated as though she was the only girl in the world, to feel as though there would never be anyone that Emily would ever want again, it made her feel special. She didn't think that would be what sex was, she thought it was just another activity you did, she thought it was the normal thing to do in a relationship but being there with Emily, feeling so cared for and cherished, was nothing Alison could have imagined.

"Do I make you feel like this Ali?" Emily asks sensitively as her hands continue to move against the moaning girl beneath her.

"You make me like this and much more." Alison puffed and her hips began a small thrusting movement in rhythm with Emily's hand. They were in time, in sync with each other and it made the moment perfect, in the dim light of the soft lamp at the other end of the room combined with the low hum of the television caused a romantic setting that neither had even thought to plan, it just happened and that's what made it so perfect.

"I want to make you feel so unbelievably amazing." She tempted Alison with her finger tips dancing slightly at the edge of her underwear, it was only an inch of difference in movement but it made Alison gasp. She was so consumed by each of Emily's movements that the slightest difference was making her crazy, she felt like her head was spinning she was on that much of a high from Emily's contact.  
Emily could feel Alison's readiness for her, which meant she couldn't help herself anymore, so she allowed her fingers to slowly slip aside the fabric for easier access and once again began a soft massaging motion against Alison's wet clit. She moaned just by touching her it felt amazing to be the cause of Alison's satisfaction; it was alluring and delighting to her own desires which controlled her ability to keep a constant pleasurable pace. Alison moans grew louder but they were quickly suppressed by her warm lips.

"There is nothing more I want than to hear you yelling my name again, but tonight you can't." Emily panted as she quickened her speed slightly.

"Ok..ay..." Alison moaned between their kissing. "I'm close... already." She muttered before burying her head into Emily's neck shyly.

"I have no objections to making you come more than once, Alison." Emily chuckled as her lips caused a pattern against her cheeks and neck. Alison somehow managed to suppress a moan which was quickly rewarded by Emily entering a finger inside of her while also sucking softly on her neck, being wary not to leave any marks. She didn't want to have to explain _that_ to anyone.  
The combination of feelings was almost over whelming, over whelming to the point where Alison was sure her muscles would release any moment.  
As Emily's soft fingers pushed gently in and out she could feel her body reaching her climax, it was surprisingly arousing to be experiencing this situation in the living room, Alison was sure she would never be able to look at the room the same way again. Not that she minded at all.

"Em... I'm going to..." She whispered encouragingly, trying her best to keep her voice low.

"Good girl." Emily encouraged back.

Neither forced the time to pass, in fact they were both very much happy to enjoy the experience, there was definitely no pressure to finish so quickly, even if Emily did find Alison coming the most amazing site on the planet.  
As the movements continued Alison could no longer hold her, her body reaching its climax as the brunette skilfully rubbed and pumped against her, her hands tightened around Emily and held her so tightly she was sure she would leave marks but Emily didn't seem to show any signs of caring as she finally released around her.

"Emily..." She whispered in her final moments of her orgasm, her voice incredibly soft and weak but her body was strong enough to grip to Emily.

"Alison." Emily groaned hungrily, enjoying Alison's embrace while kissing her lightly.

As they lay there, holding each other's hands and playing with the others fingers Emily pulled at Alison's and brought them to her lips, kissing them ever so slightly, one by one.

"Come on." She adjusted Alison's clothing before standing and out stretching her hand.

"Where are we going?" Alison giggled playfully while Emily pulled her up the stairs, stopping and turning when they were safely in the brunette's room, she gave the blonde a wickedly lustful smile.

"We're going for round two." She pushed Alison against the wall and kissed her passionately.

"No objections here." Alison whispered happily.

 _ **Well guys I hope you enjoyed, I'm sorry it's been so long but I really hope it was worth it! Thanks once again for all the amazing reviews! Each and every one of you are absolutely amazing :) Let me know what you thought okay?  
Hope to update again soon!**_

 _ **-Aemstar  
**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter Eleven**_

 _One month before finals..._

"Okay, you guys should at least be showing _some_ interest in studying for finals..." Grumbled Spencer as she slapped her books on the wooden bench at lunch time; interrupting Hanna and Emily's game of coin flip - a mindless and frustrating game of using one coin to flick another into a cup for no apparent reason other than to have an excuse to drink alcohol when you lost. However drinking seemed inappropriate considering they were at school and under ages, though their age had never stopped them before.

" _Damn it_ Spencer, I was almost gonna beat her." Hanna groaned loudly as she went to throw her coin at the cup, missing badly.

"No you weren't." Spencer retorted with a snort and a raised eyebrow. Emily and Aria suppressed their laughs as Hanna grabbed her coin and tried a second time to get the coin in.

"This is serious guys," Spencer slapped her hand above the coin when Hanna went for a third throw, causing more suppressed snickers from Emily and Aria, "You should be studying or you can kiss college goodbye."

"Come on Spence! Third time's a charm." Hanna groaned childishly.

"Is that going to be your method on college?" Spencer questioned as she crossed her arms like an unimpressed parent about to discipline their child for doing something wrong.

"Would you relax? We've still got two months." Emily rolled her eyes before lazily throwing her coin at the cup, getting it in perfectly.

"Yeah Spence, I think I can see a gray hair." Aria joked.

"You shouldn't be joking too much Emily or you could lose your scholarship if you don't keep your grades up to standard." Spencer said matter-of-factly.

"I manage school and swimming just fine thank you."

"Don't forget _Alison_." Hanna winked playfully while nudging her friend hard in the ribs.

"Oh would you stop? You're like a dog with a bone. It's been a month, haven't you got better things to think about?" The brunette rolled her eyes and looked over to Alison's group; the blonde's eyes quickly glanced her way before winking and looking away.

"Come on; just tell us something juicy about the sex?" Hanna pleaded loudly.

" _Okay_ so are we just going to forget about studying thing then?"

"Is sex with Caleb not enough for you?" Emily teased, ignoring Spencer completely.

"I'm taking that as a yes." Spencer mumbled before sitting down and pulling out her lunch.

"Oh trust me, the sex is _definitely_ enough." Hanna gushed triumphantly, also ignoring the moping brunette.

"I don't think I needed to hear that." Aria mumbled while rubbing her head with a cringe.

"So you wanna hear about Emily's sex life but not mine?" Hanna questioned, offense laced in her tone.

"No we don't mind but we _always_ hear about it." The petite brunette removed her hand from her head as she quickly justified her previous comment.

"Yeah Han sorry, I wouldn't mind hearing something different." Spencer said before taking a bite out of her sandwich.

" _Fine_ , so Emily, whose top?" Hanna questioned curiously, moving on from the topic of her sex life quicker than her friends expected.

"Whose what?" Emily muttered with a quirked eyebrow.

"My goodness you're innocent. Who's always on top? Who's the dominant one?" Hanna snickered mockingly and Emily narrowed her eyes in displeasure.

"You know I much prefer keeping my sex life private." Emily retorted smartly and Spencer and Aria groaned in frustration.

" _Thanks_ Hanna." Aria whined babyishly.

" _What_?" The blonde defended obliviously but before anyone could respond Emily felt a pair of hands wrap around her eyes, blinding her. She went to smile but when she really focused on the touch of the hands she realised they weren't the softness of Alison. She was inwardly freaking out but remained calm as she tried to drag the unknown hands away.

"Guess who." Maya chimed sarcastically and Emily quickly pulled harder until she was free of Maya's hold.

"Hi Maya." She murmured neutrally before looking at her friends who all seemed struck with an awkward silence.

"How you been?" Maya smiled, seemingly oblivious to the awkwardness between them.

"Uh, good and you?" Emily returns politely, her eyes constantly flittering between Maya and her friends for help.

"Good thanks, hey I wanted to ask you out for another date."

At first Emily thought she Maya was joking but when she looked closer at the short brunette's dark eyes she realised she was serious.

"Oh Maya... that's sweet but-"

"Come on, we would be _so_ good together." Maya interrupted with a harsh push and the atmosphere thickened even more awkwardly. Emily didn't know what to do; she and Alison had never discussed becoming public with their relationship besides their close friends because they were the people they trusted to keep it a secret until they could figure out what the best thing to do, however she knew she wasn't a good liar and that if Maya wanted a straight answer she wouldn't be able to provide one without sounding unbelievable.

"I'm sorry Maya, I'm just not interested." She as softly as she could manage.

"But why not? You weren't saying that a few months ago." Maya wouldn't give in and her eagerness to try and make the prospect of a date plausible seemed desperate to not only Emily but to her silent friends. Her tone changed completely and with it the behaviour of everyone around them, they were beyond awkward and uncomfortable but when Emily couldn't answer and Maya's grew Hanna uncontrollably stood up and interrupted.

"Because she's seeing someone else." She blurted out and all eyes went to her, she sat back down in regret and gave Emily an apologetic look.

"Is that so? Who? I bet I can give her a run for her money." Maya responded sharply and Hanna scoffed, causing all eyes to crease in disapproval at her.

"Sorry." She muttered, knowing she had overstepped.

"It's none of your business." Emily turned to Maya directly, her voice still polite but stern and Maya seemed to curious to drop the subject that easily. She looked at the four girls with hard eyes, observing where their eyes would eventually stray. Hanna's eyes couldn't help but shift to the other end of the play ground hoping Alison wasn't watching what was happening, turning Maya eyes quickly fell on Noel Kahn's group dominating that part of the playground, she observed each girl curiously until a pair of sky blue eyes caught her attention and she realised then it was obvious.

"The exchange student?" Maya laughed loudly as though they were all making a joke but when no one denied it she was given her answer. "Seriously? The one that broke us up?"

" _You_ broke us up Maya, not Ali. She just gave me the truth when you wouldn't." Emily said so confidently that even her friends were a little surprised by it.

"It's Ali now? Wow, you used to hate that bitch she must be a good fuck then if you've changed your mind about that orphan freak." Maya scoffed bitterly, Emily had never heard the brunette be so awful about someone before because she always seemed so innocent and sweet.

"Back off Maya." Emily stood up and balled her fists tightly; her teeth were gritted so hard she was sure her jaw would crack into pieces if it weren't for the soft cool hand that enclosed itself around her own comfortingly.

"You know Maya, I actually have parents, I'm not an orphan, just in a social exchange program." Alison said calmly as she intertwined her fingers around Emily, forcing the brunette's balled up fists to disappear.

"So you two _are_ fucking," Maya said as she looked down at their hands, "How interesting, you've known each other less than six months and for the first two months you hated each other. Here's a social experiment question for you, why did it only take Emily four months to sleep with you? I hear your mother is psycho and your sister as well, what about your Dad? Is he still around or is he just not interested in giving a shit about you? I heard you're just as crazy as your family though, lots of therapy and not a lot of result, hey Alison? Must be hard having so much wrong in your life, I can understand why you attach yourself to the first somewhat normal thing. Perhaps _that_ is why Emily slept with you, for no other reason than she felt sorry for you. I hear pity sex can be okay." Maya folded her arms as though she had won but Emily tensed and moved forward, her heart pounding and her head thumping, how could someone say something so horrible? Her head was spinning in anger and her body had no trouble in portraying that emotion

"You don't know a thing about her or her family."

"I feel like I'm hit a sensitive subject Emily, maybe her craziness has rubbed off on you a little." Maya laughed patronisingly. "What are you going to do when she leaves, huh? Only got a month until finals and then Alison's back to California, who are you going to screw around with when she's gone?" She looked at the blonde and smirked nastily.

"Not _everything_ is about sex." Emily blurted out in frustration before gripping her hold on Alison's hand, keeping herself composed and calm.

"Oh so she doesn't put out, how boring. Well Emily you have fun with your borderline psychotic and not sexually active girlfriend, while I go have the time of my life." Maya laughed, her bitterness seeping darkly into her words.

"You know Maya," Alison called as Maya turned to leave. "You really missed out." She winked before looking up at Emily and squeezing her hand, pulling her away from the commotion before anything more serious could happen.

"Well that's one way to make Maya jealous." Hanna muttered as she Spencer and Aria stood to follow their two departing friends.

"Is that juicy enough for you Hanna?" Spencer whispered as she struggled with her books, still stunned by the whole situation.

-x-

Emily had been quiet for the remainder of the day, her thoughts stuck on what Maya had said, though it bothered her that it had come from Maya's mouth, she had a point. In a month they were doing finals and then after that graduation, what did that mean was going to happen to Alison? Was she going to go to college? It was too late to enter early application and as far as Emily was aware the blonde hadn't applied, which of course is fine but that left Emily stuck.  
Stanford was an amazing school but she had always had her heart set on Danby, it was her dream and they had offered her a full scholarship, how could she passed down such an opportunity? She felt so lost and confused, this isn't what she wanted to be thinking about in the last months of her senior year but why did she expect any different? This was what she had been preparing for this whole time but suddenly it all didn't seem to matter because of Alison, she wanted to be with Alison. No matter what. That was the outcome she wanted, whether she be at Danby, Stanford or a community college that had no special program at all, she didn't seem to desperately want anything more than Alison.

By the end of the day pretty much everyone in school had heard the rumours about their relationship and by that point she was way passed the point of being able to pretending she could handle the staring. When the bell rang she couldn't have been happier to zone out and ignore the whisper of the people she passed as she walked to her car, even the younger students seemed interested and it was beginning to _really_ bother her.

"Do people seriously have nothing better to do?" She whispered to herself as she got into the car, usually she would wait leaning against the passenger door but today she couldn't handle anymore stares.  
When Alison got into the car she seemed her usual cheerful self but it instantly dropped when she realised Emily's mood.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Her hand instinctively went to Emily's that was resting lazily on the gear stick in the centre console.

"Nothing, sweetie." She sighed when she caught some students looking into the car as they walked by. Turning the car on she drove away silently, happy that it was the end of the day and it was another school day over, she probably shouldn't be wishing days away but for that particular one, she was glad it was done.

The drive home was silent but not awkward, Emily was just so engrossed with her thoughts and Alison didn't want to disturb that, she knew it was important sometimes for people to just get lost in their minds without someone constantly talking in their ear, she could appreciate that. So to pass the time she sang quietly along to Emily's music.

"Can you sing louder?" The brunette asked softly when they had stopped at a traffic light. Alison smiled before raising her voice slightly and placing her hand on Emily's thigh, softly smoothing over the fabric of her jeans comfortingly, receiving a soft sigh of content in response. They drove that way through the rest of the afternoon traffic, every so often Emily would squeeze Alison's hand with her own when she wasn't using it to change gears or ster and by the time they were home she so much better. It was as though the badness of the day hadn't happened at all and she was content with that.  
It was then that the sight of Maya sitting on her front porch talking with her mother had made her remember why she had been so lost in her thoughts in the first place and it instantly destroyed her good mood.

"What the hell is she doing here?" She groaned angrily before getting out of the car dramatically enough that her mother and Maya would notice.

"Oh hi Emily." Maya said innocently, ignoring the glares both Emily and Alison were giving her.

"Hi." She replied neutrally, knowing having her mother there was Maya's way of manipulating the situation to suit her.

"So are you ready for the movies?" Maya asked casually as if they had already planned something, she stood at eye level with Emily and Alison, smirking slightly when she knew her expression was out of Pam's vision.

"What?" Emily exclaimed. "Maya I told you I'm not going to the movies with you." She was beyond frustrated but she already knew what was happening.

"Now Emily, don't be like that. Maya said you had this planned last week, why are you cancelling on her suddenly?"

"Mum... I'm with Alison?" Emily stated factually.

"Friends can't go to the movies?" Maya joined in with another smirk and Emily was surprised Alison had stayed quiet for so long, though she had a feeling the blonde had no other alternative.

"I agree, Emily. Alison why don't you go inside and get comfortable, maybe we can watch our own movie while these two are out? Maya promised to have you back before dinner anyway Emily, so you can go."

Emily's mouth was stuck open, she couldn't understand why her mother was being so forceful, she was sure Pam wasn't even a fan of Maya being her girlfriend, yes they had been family friends for years but her behaviour seemed weird.

"But Mum-" Emily began but she felt Alison's hand stop her.

"Hey, I don't mind." Alison had been watching Maya the entire time and she realised conflict was exactly what the smaller brunette was fishing for, it was exactly what she wanted but she wasn't going to get it. "I'll be here when you get back, have fun okay?"

She took Emily's bag and kissed her on the cheek before heading inside, holding back the pool of tears. She knew this wasn't what Emily wanted but it was hard to have someone easily get to her girl. Moving into her room she began sending Emily a message when she heard Maya's car leave to curb and drive away.

"Alison?" Pam's voice came from the door and quickly wiping away her tears Alison turned to look over at Pam with a smile. "What movie would you like to watch?"

"Whatever you would like Pam, I always seem to choose here." She shrugged before returning to her phone.

"Alison, I'm sorry about this, I understand that you and Emily are together and I don't object to that at all but Maya has been friends with Emily for years and I didn't want Emily to throw that away. I don't want her to change her social life too much because she's in a relationship."

"I understand, Pam. You don't have to be so delicate with me." She responded sincerely, though she was secretly very upset by the whole situation. "Go pick a movie, surprise me, I've gotta get changed." She smiled innocently.

"Okay, and Ali? I'm sorry to ask but can you leave your phone up here? I want Emily to focus on the movie." She looked down at Alison's phone before shrugging softly.

"Okay." Alison suppressed a cringe. "I'll be down in a minute."

Pam smiled softly before leaving and Alison sighed in frustration, she was very ready to let out a loud groan in irritation but managed to suppress that as well. Looking down at her phone she deleted her message before starting a new one.

 _Hey I'm sorry if it seemed like I just gave into your mother, I don't want you going out with her anymore than you do but it wasn't worth the drama Maya was fishing for. However saying that, you two used to be good friends before I came along and I feel that maybe I took something away from you and that's not fair, I shouldn't get in the way of that. Ignore the things she said about me today, okay? Don't let it consume you; I want you to enjoy yourself._

 _At your mothers request I can't text you and I want to respect that. Try to have fun._

 _-Alison_

 _Ps... don't let her touch you, you're my girl._

She didn't wait for a reply, sensing she might not get one. Instead she quickly got dressed into some comfortable slacks and one of Emily's old shirts that was a few sizes too big for her, it smelt like the brunette, warm and comforting. Alison was missing her already and it had been less than ten minutes, why was this so hard? Trying not to focus on the day's events she snuggled into Emily's shirt before heading down stairs to watch whatever movie Pam had chosen.

-x-

Hours had passed and Emily still hadn't arrived home, she hadn't made it to dinner and Pam seemed displeased for obvious reasons but Alison couldn't understand why she expected anything more. Wayne had gotten home just before dinner and was curious as to why his daughter was nowhere to be seen, it wasn't until half way through dinner however that he actually asked where she was and Pam seemed frustrated to explain, which peeked Alison's curiosity though she remained quiet. When dinner was finished and Pam began making some tea Alison and Wayne sat quietly on the lounge and put another movie on, however neither seemed interested in actually paying attention.

They had been sitting down on the lounge patiently while they waited for Pam and the tea when the front door slammed open and Emily stormed inside, causing the two to jump. Alison stood quickly when she realised how cold and wet Emily looking and it was then she realised that it was raining outside, quite heavily too. She sighed when Emily came into her vision and she stood to greet the shivering brunette. Taking off a flannelette jacket that she had stolen from Emily's closet just before dinner she wrapped it around the angry looking girl.

"There you are." Pam said as she walked into the lounge room with two cups of tea, placing them on the coffee table when she also realised how wet Emily was. "I wanted you home before dinner, Emily. Where have you been?"

Alison observed Emily closely, her eyes were red and her cheeks were flushed but it was hard to tell given how soaked she was. She was concerned when she become aware of how furious Emily really was and when she looked closer at the brunette who still hadn't said a word since she entered the room, Alison noticed the soft smudge of dark lipstick on the corner of Emily's lips, the deep maroon tone was the colour that Maya always wore and Alison could feel the strong sense of rage bubble deep in her stomach.

"Well Em? Why are you so late?" Pam asked again, her tone a mixture of cautious and concerned.

"Because Maya doesn't understand the word 'no', I had to walk home." Emily finally spoke but she was looking at the ground, her lip trembling in a combination of anger and sadness and it was that small movement that gave Alison the courage to lift her finger to the brunette's lip and wipe away the already half dismissed make up.

"Why didn't you call us for a lift home baby?" Wayne questioned curiously as he made his way to the three of them, ignoring the cup of tea he had been craving since he had gotten home.

"I couldn't." She replied bitterly as she looked up at her mother and immediately Pam bowed her head in shame as she pulled Emily's phone from her pocket. The brunette took it from her as calmly as she could before wiping her lips in disgust. "I told you I didn't want to go for a reason."

She took Alison's hand and walked upstairs, trying her very best to contain the anger that had been cooking up inside her the whole walk home.

"Why did you make her go out dear?" They heard Wayne ask curiously.

"I was just trying to do the right thing." Pam sighed in disappointment and immediately both Alison and Emily felt the sharp pinch of guilt twist in their guts. Opening her door Emily pulled Alison inside and shut it behind them, she was so angry it took every fibre of her not to slam it, she didn't care how guilty she felt.

"Em, are you okay?" Alison asked, concerned as the brunette began to pace quickly through the room.

" _Urgh_! This is unbelievable! I can't believe she _kissed_ me! How dare she? I should have slapped her." Emily erupted, the days stress finally leaving her body in the form of a rambling mess. "I just... I can't even... urgh fuck!" She kicked her bed frame in frustration, stubbing her toe she knew it was going to hurt when the anger wore off.

"Hey it's okay, don't hurt yourself sweetie." Alison cooed as she walked closer to Emily and reached for her hand.

"Why did Mum make me do that?" She whimpered, the adrenaline of the long walk home and the anger disappearing and being quickly replaced by confusion and despair.

"She was just doing what she felt was right." Alison said supportively, she turned the brunette to face her and held her cold cheeks delicately. Carefully she wiped the rest of the thick lipstick Maya's destructive lips had left behind.

"Come on, you need to get out of these clothes or you'll get sick." Alison went to find Emily some fresh clothes but was stopped by the brunette's strong arms pulling her back.

She gasped as Emily pulled her close, keeping the distance between their lips at the bare minimum. Alison felt her heart skip a beat and she felt her breath catch in her throat as Emily dangled her lips dangerously close to hers, so close they could feel each other's breath but still not close enough that they were touching.

Seconds passed and suddenly Alison felt her back hit something solid as Emily pushed her with a passionate fever against the closest wall. Her breath caught once again at the passion, she was so breathless she was sure she would faint if she didn't feel Emily's lips connect with her own soon.

"Emily..." She puffed desperately as Emily pushed her against the wall again. "What happened?" She tried to question but found the distance between them too much and the brunette's adventurous hands distracting.

"Later." Emily grunted before connecting their lips in a surge of heat and euphoria, her wondering, and strangely, warm hands were being controlled by the exasperated part of her thoughts while her lips were controlled by the part of her thoughts that desired greatly for the blonde.

"Em..." Alison tried again, placing her arms on Emily's shoulders as she tried to create some distance between them, sensing that even though Emily's delicate hands were holding and caressing her sweetly, that maybe they should be talking about what happened.

" _Later_ Ali, please." The brunette muffled as she took Alison's hands and pushed them against the wall, the brunette's wet clothes pressing against her, creating a strange friction that caused; without thinking, Alison to moan into her touch and allow all her thoughts to go.  
She didn't want to over think a situation she was secretly aching for herself.

Her thoughts were running wilding because having Emily so focused aroused her greatly, the brunette's sudden urge and need to control was covered up by a small sense of desperation. Alison was trying hard to figure out why the brunette was so eager to be dominate but it wasn't until Emily's lips strayed to her neck that she realised the moment Maya had kissed her she had taken away her sense of control. Maya had violated that sense of control Emily thought she had and this was her way of getting it back so Alison did what she could to be as submissive as her body would physically allow in hopes it would give Emily the confidence that had been lost in the night. She felt better knowing Alison was ready to submit, it gave her the incentive to keep gong even when the possibility of her parents walking in crossed her mind.

When Emily's arms finally realised their hold of her hands she let them wrap securely around the brunette's neck as extra encouragement, holding her so tightly her natural response was the snuggle deeply into the brunette's shoulder, enjoying the sensation of Emily's lips as they desperately explored her neck and chest while her finger tips roughly roamed her waist.

Lifting Alison's shirt up Emily's soft but possessive hands roamed further up her cool, slim body greedily and suddenly all rational thinking on both their behalf was gone.

Emily didn't focus on Alison's waist for long, one hand got distracted with moving further up the blonde's shirt while the other hastily moved down her baggy slacks. With the combinations of pleasure it was difficult to suppress the overwhelming feeling to express them but Emily was a step ahead with her lips ready to cover Alison's. It wasn't long before the tightness of her shirt was frustrating her and Emily quickly lifted it from her body and threw it to the ground, she hastily did the same with Alison's noticing however that it was an old shirt of hers, she made a note to question it late. Pushing the blonde against the wall once more she skilfully moved her hand behind her back and unclipped Alison's bra before also throwing it to the ground, her hands couldn't have waited any longer to feel the soft skin against her cold hands. Burying her head into Alison's neck she bit and sucked passionately at the skin creating further arrays of sensations to drive the blonde crazy, her body was caving for more sensation but at the same time couldn't handle anymore.

"I can feel how wet you are." Emily whispered sharply, clearly pleased that even though she was only touching Alison from the outside of her underwear she could still feel her arousal. The seduction that dripped in her voice made Alison's legs wobble, this was unbelievably sexy and the intensity of the sexual tension between them was growing beyond a point of control.

"It's embarrassing." Alison whispered as she shied away into Emily's neck while still gripping tightly to her.

"Not embarrassing, Ali... _sexy_." Emily cooed, her voice like a thick warm honey, sending shivers down Alison's spin as each sticky syllable left her lips. She didn't hesitate to slip aside Alison's underwear, the temptation had become too much and the build-up inside her had progressed to a point where she no longer felt like herself. Her body was being controlled by a hidden part of her; a part she never knew existed but welcomed it anyway. A gasped slipped from Alison's lips which she could only suppress by bitting Emily's shoulder, which really just gave her more confidence and to heighten her own arousal. She wasted no time in rubbing her fingers against Alison's wet folds, making a deliciously slow rhythm.

Reconnecting their lips once again Alison tightened her hold as Emily began to make love to her roughly against her bedroom wall, the only thought she could manage was how incredibly sexy the whole situation was and before she knew it a deep build up rose from her stomach and Emily could feel it too. Smiling she entered a finger into the blonde, then a second, slowly pushing in and out teasing her, creating her sense of power and control to rise.

Her lips trailed up and down the blonde's neck before straying down her chest every so often, sucking and bitting confidently, though her frustration at the night probably seeped into her actions slightly and caused small love bites to appear, however at that point she didn't seem to care and neither did Alison.

"I'm close..." The blonde shuttered breathlessly as Emily sucked at the base of her neck.

"You have to be quiet." She warned softly, slowing down her rhythm ever so slightly to catch the blonde's attention.

"I'll... try." She almost begged in returned, her hips subconsciously moving against Emily's fingers to create the friction that was lost.

"You have too. Otherwise I might have to stop." Emily teased and ceased her actions completely, causing Alison to wither helplessly in disappointment.

"Don't stop..." She begged. "I'll be quiet." It was a promise as she clutched to Emily once more. "Please don't stop." She continued to beg and buck her hips in unison, causing a small chuckle to emanate deep from Emily's chest before she continued her previous movements; getting a grateful moan to fall from Alison's lips immediately and her lips to once again go to her shoulder.

"Quiet." She ordered but didn't stop; she liked having Alison so conflicted against her, the need to express her pleasure but her desire to hold it in contradicted her wild thoughts. The only way Alison could manage to communicate was by kissing the shoulder she had been biting so aggressively and nodding ever so slightly.

"Sorry." She puffed when she looked at how red the brunette's shoulder was, noticing small bite marks slowly appearing.

"Don't be sorry." Emily whispered. "It means you're close." She smiled triumphantly before tilting her head so she could kiss the blonde passionately.

" _So_ close." Alison replied and she continued her rhythm.

Moments later she could feel Alison's walls tighten around her fingers, she was ready for the blonde to come undone around her, she _needed_ her too.

"Come Ali." She commanded causing Alison to shutter at her control, it was the finale encouragement she needed for her release and as she reached her climax Emily muffled her moans with another passionate kiss.

As Alison came down from her ultimate high Emily's lips continued to caress hers softly and slowly, when she was sure the blonde had adjusted, she pulled out causing a sharp breath to get caught in her chest but they were both so engrossed in the moment they couldn't focus on much else.

Bringing Alison into a gentle and comforting hug Emily sighed into her neck contently, the night's problems now long gone from her mind.

"Ali?" She murmured lightly and the blonde puffed slightly before speaking.

"Yeah?" She was still catching her breath.

"I love you, very much." She was quiet but her words were filled with sincerity. It was obvious all the frustration was transferred into the hot love making and Alison could feel the brunette's frustrated tension slowly disappear.

"I love you too, Em."

-x-

"Well..." Hanna began; her expression pure shock. "That sounded... intense." She continued with a gaping mouth and Emily looked around Spencer's barn shyly. Both Aria and Spencer had raised eyebrows with half gaped mouths also, causing Emily to blush.

"You guys having been asking for weeks about my sex life and then I give you some information and it's too intense? Geez, picky much?" She justified quickly. It was Friday night; they had finished another week, which meant it was getting closer to finals and Spencer had decided that this was a nice way to end the week before they would have to start seriously studying.

"I didn't say I was complaining." Hanna giggled. "I just didn't realise you were such a tiger Em." She said while nudging Emily playfully in the sides.

"Oh shut up." Emily rubbed her head in embarrassment.

"So... out of curiosity, which wall did you two do it against? Cause I'll make sure not to lean against it again." Hanna joked causing Emily to roll her eyes.

"You know, Spencer and Toby probably did it on that lounge you're lying so comfortably on." She stuck her tongue out and Hanna quickly sat up before looking over at Spencer questionably, the brunette blushed bright red before shrugging her shoulders innocently.

" _Okay_... can I swap with you Aria?" Hanna directed to the short brunette who had been relaxing quietly on the old recliner. Spencer cleared her throat subtly, causing all eyes to shift between her and the chair.

" _Really_?" Aria giggled, understanding the brunette's insinuation.

"Hey, I thought we were talking about Emily's sex life, not mine." Spencer interjected quickly; her cheeks still a bright red.

"No no, it's fine really. I don't mind." Emily said happily, happy to have the attention off her finally.

" _So_ Em," Spencer began quickly before anyone else could continue the subject on her sex life, "Alison's a biter?"

Hanna was half way through drinking some soda when she scoffed and tried to swallow at the same time, causing a large gaggling sound to get stuck in her throat before she splattered and coughed as she tried to recover. Everyone laughed loudly.

"Is there any alcohol in Spencer's drink?" The blonde asked, her tone lathered in surprise, more laughter followed before all eyes went back to Emily for an answer.

"Um... no." She subconsciously rubbed at her shoulder where underneath her pale shirt, the faint sign of teeth marks lay in her skin.

Her friends shared quick expressions before smirking evilly. "Don't even think about it." She warned but before she could react Spencer's hands clasped her shoulder while Hanna moved her shirt slightly out of the way to reveal to no surprise a small bite mark.

"Oh... my god! That's kind of surprising! Why is that so surprising?" Hanna laughed as Emily shrugged out of her and Spencer's hold.

"Shut up." She blushed shyly.

"No it's a good thing! If she was biting you that means you were doing a good job."

"Thanks Hanna, I actually didn't need you to tell me that." Emily said proudly.

"That's true; you've got the evidence to prove it." Aria giggled as she looked over at the three bickering between themselves.

"By the sounds of it, I'm surprised she didn't faint it was that intense." Spencer found Aria's giggling infectious as she made a playful joke with her friends.

"So what initiated the hot love making against the wall anyways?" Hanna asked as she lay back into the lounge.

"Um... Maya somehow convinced my mum to force me to hang out with her." She began explaining seriously.

"Oh yeah that's right, how did that go? You never finished telling me that story today in class." Aria recalled lightly.

"Because Maya is in that class." They all nodded in agreement without speaking. "We went to the movies, she insisted on sitting at the back and I swear every two minutes she would try and hold my hand. Finally the movie finished and I almost ran back to her car, I didn't know why at first but she insisted on driving. When I got in she practically threw herself at me and kissed me." She wiped her lips in disgust at the memory, she was still angry but it was somewhat suppressed.

" _What_? That's not cool!" Hanna exclaimed angrily and murmurs of agreement followed from Spencer and Aria. " _Bitch_. I can't believe I used to like the thought of you two together."

"What happened next?" Spencer encouraged.

"I pushed her away but she kept trying, she tried convincing me that we would 'have fun' but it wasn't until I practically yelled at her that she finally let go and I had just enough time to get out of the car and walk away."

"Wait, you walked home?" Aria gasped in disbelief and Emily nodded, causing gasp to follow from Spencer and Hanna too.

" _Bitch_ " Hanna murmured bitterly again.

"Why didn't you call your parents?"

"Mum took my phone off me; she said she didn't want me distracted when I was with someone." Emily rolled her eyes; she still didn't fully understand her mother's intentions, considering she was aware of her and Alison's relationship regardless of how confusing it was.

"That's a really weird thing for your mum to do." Aria stated lightly while trying to understand Pam's intentions.

"I think she feels bad enough though, it was just really bothering the whole way home, like I had to walk almost an hour in the rain because she wouldn't listen to me about Maya." Emily noted vaguely, still not fully understanding.

" _Ohhh_." Hanna blurted out loudly, causing all eyes to turn to her in mild shock and curiosity. "I get it; you were getting all frustrated and flustered as you walked home! You were sexually frustrated!" She laughed loudly and triumphantly as if she had discovered the answer to the meaning of life.

"It's so nice to see that you're being sensitive to my feelings about the whole situation, Hanna." Emily muttered in displeasure.

"Hey, you almost made me chock on my soda, I won't let you make me feel bad for having a joke."

"Technically that was me." Spencer piped up with a chuckled, giving Emily an apologetic nod.

"Okay, alright you lot, how about we stop talking about all this and just watch another movie?" Aria offered while flicking aimlessly through Spencer's many movies.

"Another one? It's almost midnight." Spencer groaned while flopping backwards onto a pile of blankets she had sprawled out on the floor to make a pitiful excuse of a bed.

"Don't be such a grandma, Spence." Hanna threw a pillow at the brunette and smiled smugly.

"I'm not a grandma!" Spencer sat up defensive. "But I want to study tomorrow."

" _Grandma_!" Hanna laughed.

"Geez, don't you have a day off at all?" Aria asked as she took selecting a movie into her own hands and put the first desirable choice into the DVD player and clicking play.

"Harvard doesn't have a day off if I want to get into Law." The brunette stated matter-of-factly.

"Well actually they have weekends and holidays so technically they do." Emily said while snickering, causing the others to laugh as well, Spencer however was not amused at all. "You don't have to stay awake for the whole movie, you can fall asleep to it." Emily reasoned quickly.

"Ew, that's weird." Spencer scrunched up her face in displeasure.

"What? You've never done that?"

"Well of course I've done it accidentally but it's weird to do it intentionally. I try to watch the whole thing." Spencer said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I've gotta agree with Spencer, it would be weird to always fall asleep to movies." Aria commented and Hanna nodded in agreement. Emily remained quiet for a long time; perhaps she had become so adjusted to Alison's sleeping habits that she forgot her old ones.

"Don't you think it's weird?" Spencer encouraged when she still hadn't contributed anything to the conversation.

"Not really." She shrugged, smiling softly at the thought of Alison. The blonde did always brighten any mood.

"Oh that's right! Alison's falls asleep to television shows doesn't she?" Hanna recalled the day her and Emily went shopping and the brunette had bought an entire DVD box set just for Alison.

"Sometimes, other times its movies. I guess it just depends what mood she's in."

"How do you sleep with the light and sound? That would annoy me." Spencer said while stretching and yawning simultaneously.

"Not everyone is like you, Miss Harvard Law." Emily laughed as she threw her pillow at the vulnerable Spencer who was still stretching.

"Yeah thank goodness for that!" Hanna also laughed as she too threw a pillow at the brunette who had crossed her arms grumpily. Spencer however quickly rebutted by throwing a pillow roughly back at her, causing a large pillow fight to erupt.

Suddenly the vibrating of Emily's phone broke her focus, giving Spencer the opportunity to wack her violently twice with two pillows before the brunette quickly grabbed it and hit her back.

" _Stop_ , it's Alison." She laughed and the girls _'ohh_ -ed' childishly in unison as she answered. "Ali? What are you doing up so late?" Emily stood and mimed to Aria to pause the movie so she could hear Alison.

"Emily..." Alison whispered her voice thick with fear.

"What's wrong?" Emily's demeanour changed immediately as she stood from the mess of pillows and blankets on the ground.

"There's someone in the house." Alison sounded half asleep and momentarily Emily questioned whether or not the blonde was having a hallucination, which was still scary despite the realism of it or not.

"Ali, it's okay, you're safe inside. There's no one in the house." Emily paced as she tried to calm the blonde down, it was in that moment she began regretting leaving Alison alone. It was the first night they hadn't spent together in a while, not just physically, Emily had grown so accustom to having Alison beside her and she realised this was a possible reaction to her absence.

"No... Em... I can hear someone down stairs." Alison whimpered helplessly.

"Where are you?" Emily questioned as she put her shoes on, now really regretting leaving Alison alone. Spencer, Hanna and Aria were all looking between each other, completely confused to what was going on and as Emily reached for her keys in her bag she headed outside and heard them follow.

"I'm in your closet." She was crying softly but trying desperately hard to be quiet.

"I'm coming, Ali." Emily said as she ran from the barn and through Spencer's backyard, she was beyond thankful that her house was less than a five minute walk from the brunette's and it would be less than two minutes when she was running her fastest.

"Hurry." Alison sniffed hysterically.

"I won't hang up; just keep talking to me baby." Emily puffed, she could hear Spencer, Hanna and Aria running behind her but her speed was no match for them, within seconds she was around the corner and sprinting down her street. Alison didn't speak though, she was too focused on muffling her cries to manage a rational sentence.

"I'm here Ali. I'm coming." Emily said as her pitch black house came into vision, she hung up the phone when she made it to the drive and grabbed her keys. Fumbling she finally managed to unlock the door and pushed it open with a loud bang, she heard a cry for help come from upstairs and then it was followed by loud screams and fumbling. Emily's body kicked into gear as she ran to Alison's aid, turning on every light switch she passed.

Entering her room she saw a hooded figure holding Alison to the ground, holding her by her neck, grasping tightly, chocking her. Instinct kicked in and Emily charged at the masked person, she couldn't see their face and their clothes were so baggy their gender was unreadable. Not that she was really focused on that but instead the hands that were around her girlfriends neck, grabbing the person roughly by the shoulders she threw them aside, her next instinct was to see if Alison was okay but was quickly stopped by a pair of hands grabbing her and pulling her away and they struggled against each other.

The other person was freakishly strong but Emily would do anything at that point to protect Alison who was lying helplessly on the floor trying to catch her breath. They fought each other against different elements of Emily's room, first bumping her desk causing books and photo frames to fall, and then it was as though the unknown person was granted extra strength pushed the brunette so hard they almost fell against the closet wall. Emily hit the wall with a loud thump, causing her to wince in pain giving the figure a chance to take advantage at her weakness, throwing her aside as if she was a rag doll Emily hit her desk with another painful strike, winding and shocking her. She gasped for air as she fell to the ground, her arm automatically taking the impact first and falling on some broken glass that had been broken from a photo frame in the havoc. She winced again before looking up for the person, her vision was slightly blurry momentarily out of the ruckus but she adjusted in just enough time to see the figure disappear out the window.

Alison was coughing violently and breathing heavily on the ground not far from her and suddenly her focus was lost, she struggled to the blonde's side on one arm while keeping the other one against her chest. It was aching badly but with Alison still struggling to catch her breath thoughts on herself were greatly deceased in value, in that moment Emily couldn't have cared less about her bleeding arm.

"You're okay." She mumbled as she too tried to catch her breath and pulled the blonde against her chest. Alison crumbled against her, thankful to have her strong girlfriend there to protect her.

"I'm sorry I left you." Emily puffed regretfully, hating herself more and more as each moment Alison continued to cry and gasp for air against her.

"It was my mum." Alison replied before hiding further into Emily's chest.

"What?" Emily tensed protectively as she tried to match the figures features with Jessica DiLaurentis'. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

-x-

It was passed four in the morning when the police had finished questioning Alison and Emily, while also gathering any evidence that Jessica may have left behind. Spencer had been the one to call the police when she, Aria and Hanna had caught up to the Fields home, no sign of a masked figure but instead a puffing pair of terrified girls sat helplessly on the ground. They had left not long after the police had arrived because it was too crowded and over whelming for them.

Pam and Wayne had arrived home from Pam's work party with quite a surprise to have police cars parked out the front of their home. Emily noted that her parents were quite party animals, she just had never noticed before.

Wayne was shaking hands with one of the policemen before he said goodbye and thank you, he locked the door securely behind him and shook his head in a mixture of exhaustion and frustration while Pam quickly moved into a tight hug for comfort. Emily watched from the lounge room, her sore arm that she had wrapped up in a jacket before anyone could notice, was securely and protectively around Alison who had fallen asleep against her. She knew the only reason Alison was sleeping after such a night was because she was so exhausted she physically couldn't help it.

"Are you going to bed sweetie?" Pam asked as she left Wayne's hold and entered the lounge room.

"Yeah in a minute, we'll sleep in Alison's room tonight because my room is a mess after... everything and I really don't feel like cleaning it right now."

Her parents nodded sympathetically before saying their goodnights, giving her a kiss on the forehead and disappearing up stairs.

Emily sighed when she was sure they were gone, looking down at her watch she noticed the screen was cracked and the dials weren't moving, she was disappointed but too tired to be upset, her arm was hurting and causing more discomfort then her watch, even if it was her favourite.

The thought of Jessica _still_ being in Rosewood angered her, she thought the woman was long gone back to California and was staying there but apparently not. Apparently neither her nor Alison could catch a break.

Moving her arm slightly, feeling sharp pains but ignoring it, she skilfully picked Alison up and carried her upstairs. Unaware but impressed she had such strength after the night she had, being thrown across her room and into a solid object was a painful experience, and she was getting the bruises on her side to prove it but apparently it wasn't enough to stop her from getting Alison into bed without waking her. She assumed it was just the adrenaline from the whole commotion powering her strength and decided to take it for granted while she could. Lying Alison down delicately she kissed the blonde's forehead before moving to turn on her laptop, the sound was going to be distracting but the prospect of sleeping was still something she wasn't planning on participating in. It felt like five minutes passed and the sun was appearing over the horizon, she felt exhausted but still couldn't sleep, her mind and thought's wouldn't allow it. She merely kept close to Alison and watched her sleep, being sure to rub the blonde's arm or side comfortingly when she stirred in her slumber.

It was just after nine when Pam opened the door slightly, surprised to have Emily's eyes look to her straight away, she mouthed an apology when she realised Alison was still asleep and left the room. However the sound of the door closing made the blonde jump slightly, waking her.

"It's okay, it was just my mum." Emily said soothingly before altering her position so she was facing Alison, even with sleep the blonde looked tired and over the course of the night the signs of her mother's harmful hands had begun to physically show in the form of dark blue bruises.

Emily wanted to kiss them but sensed Alison may have been hesitant to allow any contact.

"Did you sleep?" Alison questioned, noticing the dark blue bruises under Emily's eyes. She shook her head and readjusted when leaning on her injured arm began to hurt. "What's wrong with your arm?" Alison noticed Emily wince ever so slightly and she didn't wait for the brunette to answer, aware that she probably wouldn't get a completely honest answer.

Lifting up the sleave of Emily's jacket slowly she was surprised when the site of dry blood and bruises appeared.

"Em!" Alison exclaimed in disbelief.

"It's not that bad Ali, honestly, I'm more worried about your bruises." Emily nodded down at her neck and she couldn't help but instinctively touch it even when she couldn't physically see it.

"Can I tell you something?" She asked as she rubbed her neck and then touched Emily's arm softly.

"Of course." The brunette encouraged with an appreciative smile, enjoying the feeling of the blonde's hands caressing her damaged skin.

"She's done this before, that's why I'm so confident it was her." She felt embarrassed to reveal this information but Emily was so quick to change positions once again so she was hovering above her protectively that she had no time to doubt herself.

"Did you tell the police that?"

"I did."

"I'm proud of you." Emily smiled and leant down to kiss the bruised skin of Alison's neck tenderly.

"You are?" She moaned gratefully into Emily's touch.

"You have no idea how proud I am of you Alison." She murmured against the blonde's neck, her eyes investigating the damaged skin protectively while her lips followed.

"I don't think anyone has ever said that to me." Alison whispered shyly, her revealing tone completely taking Emily by surprise. Why had no one ever told Alison they were proud of her? Not even once! There were many reason's to be proud of her and it sickened Emily that no one had pressed that before now, she was perhaps even disappointed in herself that it had taken her this long.

"I'm sorry I haven't told you soon." She said quietly and Alison smiled, thinking the apology was unnecessary but she could see the confliction in the brunette's eyes. Emily felt guilty for many reasons, she left Alison alone last night, if she had been home Jessica wouldn't have shown up, or even if she had run just that little bit faster maybe Alison wouldn't have any bruises, she felt awful and it was causing the greatest of conflictions in her mind. It wasn't until Alison's cool finger tips wiped away a tear she realised she was crying, her eyes stung from being open all night and as the saltiness of her tears rubbed against the glassy surface it caused her own hands to leave Alison's soft skin to rid of other offending tears.

She was suddenly tired, exhausted even and it seemed the adrenaline had finally worn away and was replaced by a the pain in her arm and an even stronger pain in her side that she was assuming to be a newly formed bruise from being thrown into her desk the night before.

It seemed being strong and composed was no longer a challenge Emily could fight and Alison watched as the brunette caved under the pressure.

"It's okay Em, you can cry." Alison was hovering above the brunette now, protecting her. "Don't hold it in, don't let it consume you."

She encouraged when she realised how hard Emily was trying to hold her feelings in.

"I shouldn't have left you Ali, I'm so sorry I did." She burst into tears while rubbing her head in frustration, how could she have allowed Alison to be alone?

"Don't be sorry, you're allowed to go out with your friends, you can't always be with me Em and my mum knew that. She planned this; it's not your fault." She said softly as she took Emily's hands away from her head and kissed it tenderly. "Don't let your thoughts consume you." She whispered while continuing to kiss Emily's forehead, every so often straying down her cheeks and neck.

"I need to be strong." Emily replied with grinding teeth.

"Why?"  
"I need to be strong for you." She whimpered honestly.

"Emily... you have been nothing but strong and amazing for me." Alison began with a soft tone. "Now it's my turn to be strong for you."

She leant down and kissed the brunette lightly on the lips. "Let me be strong for you."

Emily sniffed as a few stray tears fell down her cheeks, she went to rub them away but Alison beat her to it. Moments later she nodded slowly, allowing herself to be weak for the first time in front of the beautiful blonde that had changed the very direction in which she was planning to live her life.

"Come on," Alison smiled. "Let's get your arm cleaned up."

 _ **Hope you guys liked! I'm sorry it's been so long. I'm working all day everyday and travelling four hours all up so it's hard to make time but I really hope it's worth the wait! :)**_

 _ **I'm also thinking of finishing this story up soon, in the next couple of chapters anyways! So stay tuned, but don't worry I'm writing more stories and I've still got 'A Night To Remember' as well, so if anyone wants something to read there's that as well!**_

 _ **Thanks again for the lovely reviews and of course the patience! You guys are amazing!**_

 _ **-Aemstar**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys. I'm going to come straight out with it, I have decided to end this fanfic here but I have left myself space open for a sequel if I get enough feedback from you guys, I'm sorry if this disappoints anyone but please don't send me hate mail or anything. I'm going to be focusing more on my other fanfics – and I have also started some ideas for a new one. If people are really pissed that I've decided to end this one, I will update a chapter every few months but as you have all probably noticed - that's pretty much what I've been doing with this one anyways, I'm sorry I've been lacking ideas for it.  
But never the less, I did a long chapter because it's what you guys deserve. I hope you enjoy!**

 _ **Chapter Twelve**_

Emily was waiting patiently outside the auditorium for Alison to finish her final exam; the brunette had finished her last exam about half an hour earlier in the biology labs so she had decided to wait around instead of going for a coffee like she had originally planned. She had been pacing for almost twenty minutes when Hanna, who had finished her exams the day before, had stopped by the school to empty her locker was walking to the bin and noticed her friend walking back and forth nervously.

"Hey!" She called from the other end of the court yard while she walked over and Emily quickly looked up curiously, smiling when she saw her best friend making her way over.

"Hey. How did cleaning out your locker go?"

"I had so much crap in there _and_ I found that bracelet I thought I'd lost ages ago." The blonde laughed lightly.

"I'm glad you found it." Emily rolled her eyes expecting nothing less of Hanna.

"So why are you still here? I thought your biology exam finished at twelve?"

"It did but Ali finishes her maths exam soon and... well I wanted to be here for her last exam."

" _Aw_ that is so cute! Why won't you two just become public already? I mean I know Maya knows and she spread a rumour but why not actually be public instead of everyone hearing second hand information?"

"Because Ali's not ready." Emily smiled, somewhat taken aback by Hanna's slight topic change.

"Well what about you?"

"I'm ready when she's ready." She shrugged honestly.

"Goodness you are just so cute and in love, it's adorable." Hanna almost squealed in delight.

"Shut up." Emily grumbled as she shoved her friend playfully.

" _No_ , I'm serious! I am so glad to see you happy, like... you get to feel what I feel for Caleb, we can relate and you're my friend so I really cherish the way you feel."

"Wow Han..." Emily whispered as her smile grew. "That's super sweet of you."

"Look I know I act all ditsy and clueless sometimes but I see you, and I see the way you look at Alison. No one could ever love someone as much as you love her. I don't want people like Maya and Alison's mother getting in the way and trying to pull you two apart."

"I won't give up on her Han, no matter where she goes or what she does; I'll make it work between us." Emily knew Hanna was expecting this promise but really she was promising it for herself, she knew that once she went to Danby for swimming her time was going to be occupied but she would make time for Alison.

"But hey, I'm proud of you for taking the Danby scholarship! When you're a famous swimmer don't forget me okay?" Hanna said playfully, her behaviour back to her usual sassy self.

"Yeah and when you're a famous fashion designer don't forget me."

"Trust me I won't, after all I need a model for my college projects." Hanna giggled while she shoved Emily back and the brunette rolled her eyes in return. Before either girl could speak again the doors of the auditorium opened and a rush of students swarmed out in ecstasy, happy that their exams were finally over and they were free from education – for now anyway.

Alison was one of the last to exit the building but she seemed just as happy as the rest of the students and she was even happier the moment her eyes fell upon Emily who was waiting with her patiently in the crowd of other students that were hugging and congratulating each other before parting ways to leave the school.

"Hey!" She called with a giggle as she almost danced over to Emily and Hanna.

"Hi, how did you go?" Emily asked with a smile.

"I think I did okay." She nodded as she threw her pens from the exam into her handbag. "I guess we'll find out next week."

"Hanna!" Caleb was calling from the car park, distracting both Alison and Emily.

"Coming!" The blonde called before turning back to Alison. "He's actually been amazing for waiting that whole time, so I'd better go but congratulations on finishing Ali."

"Thank you Hanna and you too." Alison quickly gave Hanna a hug before the blonde swiftly walked back to Caleb, giving him a kiss and obviously apologising, Caleb rolled his eyes but smiled largely at his girlfriend though Emily and Alison didn't focus on them for long.

"You waited for me?" Alison asked and Emily nodded shyly.

"Of course I did."

Without another second passing Emily felt Alison's lips collide with her own and the blonde's arms wrap around her neck in a compassionate embrace. A symphony of gasps and whispers emanated from the students that had remained behind to talk and discuss the exams but the topic of conversation quickly changed when Emily and Alison shared a tender kiss before them.

"I love you." Alison whispered, ignoring the many stares and soft voices around them because the only thing that matter in that moment was Emily.

"I love you too." Emily blushed shyly but spoke confidently.

"Guess what?" Alison whispered as she leant against Emily's neck.

"What?" The brunette moved into Alison happily but could feel her smiling against the base of her neck.

"I got accepted into Danby for Bachelors in Psychology."

" _What_?" Emily almost yelled in excitement before pulling Alison away from her neck so she could look into the blonde's bright blue orbs and search for an explanation.

"I entered for early admissions in hopes maybe I would be lucky, turns out they were impressed with my work here."

" _No way_!" Emily's smile grew and Alison could feel the brunette's hold tighten around her out of excitement.

"It looks like we'll be college buddies." Alison smiled largely but quickly felt Emily's hands move from her hips to completely wrap around her waist and swing her around in a speedy circle while kissing her enthusiastically.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Emily puffed when she finally released the blonde.

"I was waiting for the right time." Alison giggled in response while taking Emily's hand and heading outside the school, ignoring the few students that were still hanging around to stare at them.

"This is _so_ exciting." Emily was practically jumping around the blonde as they walked to her car. The beautiful weather portraying Emily's mood and the gentle breeze evening out the hot sun, Emily considered this a perfect day and nothing would be able to change that.

"I'm glad you think so." Alison chimed as she leant against the driver door of Emily's car with an expecting smile and a raised eyebrow. She was playing with her straightened hair that flowed elegantly passed her shoulders as Emily closed some distance between them, her eyes full of hope and exhilaration.

"What?" The brunette question curiously when she noticed Alison's expression, it was as though she had something to say but was contemplating whether or not to say it.

"Well... I got you something..." Alison stuttered shyly as she reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out a small navy blue box.

"What for?" Emily blushed as she moved some stray hair away from her face before taking the small hand size box from Alison's giving hands.

"Um... many reasons really but open it and I'll explain."

Emily quirked an eyebrow before slowly lifting the lid of the small box to reveal a small gold ring, it was thin and shaped to spell the word 'love' and instantly Emily adored it, she was lost for words and even felt a small tear develop in the corner of her eye.

"I know it's kind of cheesy but I wanted you to have something that would remind you of me always." Alison leant further against the car slightly embarrassed but when Emily finally looked up from the ring she saw nothing but admiration in the brunette's eyes.

"It's perfect." Emily whispered before leaning into kiss Alison, it was sweet but the desire to exceed their limits lingered and subconsciously Alison's hand went to Emily's cheek to caress her soft skin. "I love it."

"You do?" The blonde's blush deepened but her gaze never faulted, she looked directly into Emily's eyes and saw everything, the past, the present and the future. Everything seemed so promising and she knew she was going to be okay as long as she had Emily.

Emily smirked playfully and took the ring out of the box and gave it to Alison while also presenting her right hand and her index finger. Understanding the action Alison slowly put the ring on with a bashful smile and then looked back up at Emily.

"I do." The brunette whispered before bringing Alison in for a tight hug. "But I don't need a ring to remind me of you, I'm always thinking about you." Emily said as she placed the ring box in her backpack.

"You are so cute." Alison giggled as she reluctantly broke away from Emily's hold and trotted around to the passenger side of the car.

"Only on Thursday's." She winked at Alison as she unlocked the car and got in.

"You know, it feels like Friday because it's our last day of school." Alison said casually as she shut the door and put her seat belt on.

"It does, hey?" Emily continued after turning on the car and pulling out from the curb. "But we'll be back tomorrow for the graduation ceremony."

"Oh right... I forgot about that." Alison looked down at her hands in disappointment which Emily noticed instantly regardless of her concentration on the road.

"What's wrong?" She questioned with concern.

"I just... won't have anyone to see me graduate, I mean I know I have you but... you've got your parents, if that makes sense?"

"It does." Emily nodded as she steered through the streets of Rosewood and they fell into silence, Alison seemed stuck in her thoughts and Emily was lost for words, she knew she couldn't say anything that would really comfort Alison completely, it was a matter of time and maybe the blonde wouldn't be so consumed by her family problems.

As Emily turned into her street she was surprised to see a police car parked in front of her house and an officer was standing on the porch talking politely with her mother, the conversation seemed casual and Pam seemed relatively calm so it didn't seem to be an unpleasant visit from what Emily could tell but that didn't mean she still wasn't nervous. She looked over at Alison who seemed to be investigating the scene as well but she had a fairly rough idea on why the police would be at Emily's house and as they got out of the car and headed towards Pam and the police office Emily felt her hand instinctively and protectively reach for Alison's.

"Hello ladies." The man, who Emily recognised as the main investigator from the night Alison was attacked, smiled kindly at them as they made their way to the front door step.

"Officer." Emily smiled as she squeezed Alison's already sweaty hand.

"I was wondering if I could speak to Alison for a moment?"

This time it was Alison's turn to squeeze Emily's hand, she was nervous to be without support from Emily and have to talk about the attack again but she knew that was what the gentleman was implying.

"Sure..." She almost whispered and she quickly stretched up to give Emily a swift kiss on the cheek before she nodded at both the brunette and her mother to go inside, confirming that it was okay.

"I'll be inside if you need me." Emily smiled before looking at the officer who half smiled apologetically.

When Emily was inside and Pam also offered herself for any assistance that may have been needed she closed the door behind her and left Alison alone with the officer.

"Sorry to do this Miss, I understand you just finished your exams today?" Alison didn't really know if was a question and whether he was asking out of politeness or if he was actually interested but she answered anyway.

"I did, I'm very glad."

"I imagine you would. I'm sorry to pull you away from your afternoon but I just wanted you to know that your mother was found back in California."

Alison's heart skipped a beat and she looked at the officer almost expecting him to be joking but when she looked closely at his tightened expression it was clear he was serious.

"In California? How did you find her there?"

"Well we decided to let the police force in that jurisdiction know in case she did show up. Luckily they found her."

"Why lucky?" Alison could tell there was more to the story.

"Well someone had apparently heard lots of yelling in their neighbours home and decided to call the police. When they went to investigate they found her unconscious and rushed her straight to hospital."

"What? Is she okay?" Alison didn't care how destructive and abusive her mother was, she couldn't help care for her.

"Yes she is okay, she had overdosed on some medication she had recently begun taking. It was my job to tell you of the situation as she did admit to attacking you last month."

"So... what does that mean?" Alison was beyond confused combined with upset and angry, her mother _had_ attacked her but her mother had also almost died, was she allowed to be angry? She didn't know and it confused her further.

"It's up to you, you can press charges if you wish."

"I don't want her thrown in prison; I want her to get help." Alison was almost offended by this option but she knew the officer had to provide all scenarios.

"From what I have been told it seems your mother has been placed in rehabilitation and will probably remain there by order of any judge so she will get the help she needs."

Alison nodded and looked down at her feet lost in her thoughts, she didn't know how to respond to the information but it wasn't as though the officer was waiting for a response, in fact he seemed happy that she was silent.

"If you have any questions you can call me anytime." He added after he pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to Alison.

"Thank you, Officer..." She looked down at the card in search of a name. "...Callaghan."

"Thank you for your time." He smiled gently before putting his hat on his head and turning to walk back to his car. When the white car with red and blue sirens was out of sight Alison felt her body release the tension she had been subconsciously holding in Officer Callaghan's presence with a large sigh, she wiped the sweat that had developed on her forehead away before making her way inside.

As she shut the door she was surprised to have Emily in front of her within seconds of her entering, the brunette had a wary and questioning smile, her curiosity obviously taking control of her thoughts while her thoughts tried to remain respectfully confident to the spaces of her mind.

"They found my mum." Alison murmured informatively, her eyes stuck to her feet and her lips trembling slightly.

"Really?" It was all Emily could manage to fore from her lips even though she had many questions.

"Yeah, she admitted to attacking me but for now she's in rehab apparently."

"That's good, isn't it?" Emily closed the distance between her and Alison; it was as though the blonde was almost willing her to hold her, to comfort her. The blonde was hesitant at first however she didn't resist Emily's embrace for long it was just her mind was miles away and occupied with other troubles.

"It is." She answered softly, confidence lacking in her usual buoyancy tone.

"I sense a 'but'?" Emily moved her nose against Alison's hair, trying not to push the blonde to a point of an unreliable response but she knew Alison did have something on her mind.

"I didn't want anything to ruin this afternoon." The blonde shrugged into Emily's hold.

"It's not ruined. It's still perfect Ali." Emily cooed confidently with a smile and she took Alison's shoulders to move her away in order to face her properly. "Nothing can ruin this."

She raised her index finger to Alison's eye level revealing the thin gold ring that fitted securely around her, the site made Alison smile affectionately before she returned her gaze back to Emily's warm chocolate orbs who waited patiently.

"Nothing will ever ruin this." She continued as she lowered her hand and rested it safely on Alison's cheek, stroking the skin soothingly.

"Thank you." Alison murmured gratefully before snuggling into Emily's chest in a tight hug. Before Emily had securely wrapped her arms around her girlfriend she gazed down at her, suddenly feeling very thankful for how lucky she was, she had never been a big believer in fate but it seemed to favour her and she was appreciative regardless of what she chose to believe.

"Always." She whispered as her arms made base at Alison's waist with no intentions to ever let go.

"Girls?" Pam called from the kitchen, unintentionally ruining a perfect moment but neither Emily nor Alison seemed to mind, they merely smiled before separating reluctantly. "Can you come here please?" Pam didn't wait for a response but she sounded like she was almost suppressing a giggle or an excited tone, which interested both Emily and Alison enough to cut the older Fields woman some slack.

"What's up Mum?" Emily almost laughed as she walked into kitchen, Alison close behind and their hands entwined.

"What's this?" Pam directed to them as she lifted a large cream envelope in her hand into their vision.

"Well, you're the one holding it Mum." Emily chuckled as they sat down at the kitchen island.

"It's addressed to Alison."

They went silent momentarily before Pam finally handed it to the blonde who had a large smirk across her lips and Emily immediately found it infectious the moment she realised what it was.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to leave it lying around." Alison joked sarcastically and Pam rolled her eyes before contemplating opening the already open envelope.

"Yes you did, now are you going to tell me what's going on or are you just going to let me suffer?" Pam was almost vibrating with excitement which made the girls efforts to suppress their giggles futile.

"Hmm... suffering is always a fun option to watch." Alison chuckled as she reopened the professionally addressed and sealed envelope. It was obvious what it was really, the large 'Danby' medallion was stretched largely across top left hand corner and usually rejection came in a normal letter size.

"Alison..." Pam was begging but it was clear she understood what the envelope was as Alison pulled the first easily accessible pages from their thick confinements.

" _Dear Miss DiLaurentis_ ," The blonde began with a soft pride after she unfolded the paper. " _On behalf of Danby College_ ," She was reading slowly, partially because she was teasing Emily and Pam but also because she wanted the words to sink in. " _After careful consideration we have come to the conclusion that your academic history and progression has provided us with the confidence that will prove our assurance in you in not unfounded and so I am pleased to congratulate you on your acceptance into our program for the fall of 2017._ "She couldn't help but giggle with excitement as the words she read filled her own ears. " _Enclosed with this letter, please find the necessary enrolment forms for you to fill out and return by-_ "

"Oh my god! Alison dear that is so exciting!" Pam interrupted loudly as she galloped over to the blonde and pulled her into a tight hug, restricting her from reading anymore of the letter.

"Thank you, Pam." Alison giggled as she reciprocated the bear hug and glanced up at Emily who had a very proud smile stretched across her lips.

" _Oooooo_ this is so exciting!" Pam said as she finally released Alison from her gripping embrace. "We have to celebrate! For both of you! You're both going to Danby, how exciting is that?"

"Very exciting indeed." Alison agreed as she once again exchanged looks with Emily.

Emily was watching silently in the background as Alison received her first real dose of overly excited parenting because she knew the blonde had never had such an experience, which she had decided a long time ago as unfair but had also come to the conclusion that dwelling was not the way to deal with it, so instead she watched Alison's eyes light up in ecstasy as Pam smoothed her with exhilaration.

-x-

A week had passed, graduation was over and everyone got their marks were back, Emily and Alison had passed with flying colours, which Pam and Wayne had taken full credit for and had decided to throw a small party for them and their friends.

The Fields' living room was engulfed with the sound of loud chatter and the hum of music playing lightly in the background, it was a mini party and the guest consisted of Emily's close friends and some of their parents who were there to celebrate the end of exams and the fact that all five girls had managed to grab a spot at the college of their choosing.

Alison had been standing in the corner with Emily when Pam had needed some assistance with something in the kitchen and after insisting she'd be right back Alison was then left alone with her thoughts.

As she looked around the small crowd of people she had realised that this was an experience she had never thought she'd be lucky enough to physically see, she smiled softly as she looked around at her friends and their cheerful parents. Though it made her envious the emotion was shadowed quickly by the overwhelming gratefulness to have experienced it at all, she smiled genuinely as her eyes fell upon each friend consecutively and then their parents as they politely gloated.

"What are you thinking about?" Emily asked when she had returned to Alison's side less than five minutes later.

"My family, actually." She shrugged as she sipped at her drink, her bright blue eyes never leaving the scene before her.

"Really?" Emily murmured and at first Alison was expecting the brunette to sound guilty but instead she was smiling widely.

"They pass my thoughts every so often." The blonde lied because if she was going to be honest the thought passed her mind at least one hundred times a day.

"Well it's interesting you should be thinking about them this very second..." Emily began; her tone teasing and her eyes full of suspense and it was then Alison noticed her girlfriends strange behaviour.

"What do you mean?" Alison questioned with a quirked eyebrow, slightly concerned for Emily's strange comment.

With a quick smirk and nod Emily looked over her shoulder and towards the hallway, indicating that Alison should do the same and when she did she was beyond surprised with what stood innocently before her.

"Hey Sis." Jason DiLaurentis said with his own trademark smile, the smile that Alison missed and the smile girls tripped over.

"Heya Ali Cat." Charlotte was next to speak as she too had her trademark smile on, complete with crossed arms and her long golden hair flowing gracefully passed her shoulders.

"Jason! Charlotte!" She didn't contain her screams of excitement or her tears of happiness as she ran to her brother and sister and jumped into their arms. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, we couldn't be here to see your graduation ceremony so we came to the next best thing." Jason answered as he subconsciously straightened his tie on his navy blue suit.

"Yeah, Emily managed to arrange quite a surprising get together." Charlotte chuckled and her eyes quickly fell on the others in the living room who had stopped their conversations to see what all the screaming was about.

"You did this?" Alison sniffed as she removed her wet face from her brother's shoulder and Emily winked with a soft smile. Alison felt her eyes water more as she released her hold on her older siblings and ran to Emily's side, jumping into a chaste kiss before hugging the brunette tightly. "Thank you." She whispered when she nuzzled her nose into Emily's neck.

"No problem." Emily replied while ignoring the stares that fell upon her and Alison, in that moment only the blonde matter, though her brother and sisters curious eyes did distract her slightly.

"I'm so glad you guys are here!" Alison turned back to her siblings with a great smile but kept her body close to Emily's.

"We are too." Charlotte smiled in return as she took her first official step out of the hallway and into the living room, Jason quickly followed.

"Why don't you guys come into the kitchen for some drinks while Alison speaks to her brother and sister?" Pam offered to everyone in the room but Alison's arm stayed wrapped securely around Emily's waist, denying her any hopes of leaving her.

Everyone quickly left the living room and left the four alone, Pam gave Emily a questioning look before understanding Alison was intending a family introduction and so she left as well.

"Emily, I want you to meet my brother and sister. Jason and Charlotte." Alison said as she proudly presented Emily to her siblings.

"So, you're the infamous Emily." Jason chuckled as he out stretched his hand.

"I guess I am." She almost blushed as she shook Jason's hand. "Unless you're dating another Emily I don't know about?" She directed to Alison who nudged her in return.

"Very funny."

"And I'm Charlotte." Charlotte also out stretched her hand as she showed off her bright pearly teeth and Emily shook her hand she looked between the three DiLaurentis children and saw the their own trade mark smirks flash brighter.

"Ali," Hanna interrupted the introductions. "Spencer is being a chicken and won't ask you but she wants to see your acceptance letter if you've still got it?"

"Yeah I do actually, I finished filling it out just before, I was going to mail it tomorrow."

"Okay good, well can you show us?" Hanna seemed more interested than Emily ever expected the blonde to be when it came to college applications.

"Sure. Excuse me." She said to her siblings and Emily before quickly giving them a hug and departing, leaving Emily alone with curious eyes and a small awkward silence.

"It's really lovely to meet you two." Emily began and Jason and Charlotte seemed to relax.

"Same here, Ali's told us a lot about you." Jason said as he looked down at his sister before looking back to Emily.

"All good things, I hope."

"Well not at the beginning but I think you were aware of that." Jason laughed slightly.

"Yes I was." Emily joined in before looking over at Alison who was smiling and talking with her friends, they made eye contact and the blonde subtly waved and all Emily could think about was how much all three DiLaurentis children looked alike.

"I'm sorry for this because I'm sure you get it all the time but I can't believe how much you three look alike." Emily gushed as she waved back at Alison.

"Ah yes, the _DiLaurentis_ gene, great to look at, awful to be unfortunate enough to have." Jason mused and Charlotte nodded her head agreement.

"Why awful?" Emily quirked an eyebrow curiously as she looked at the pair.

"You're aware of our parents and their... dysfunctional-ism." Charlotte stated honestly.

"Ali still loves them, but _we_ however, can't. They hurt us too much, especially Ali, that's why her affection and attachment to them was so terrifying." Jason spoke smoothly, not looking away from his youngest sister.

"What do you mean?" Emily almost whispered.

"Jessica was emotionally abusive and manipulative and Kenneth... well he was a piece of work. I couldn't handle it. I left when I shouldn't have, or at least I should have taken Alison with me." Jason continued.

"You couldn't help it Jason." Charlotte smiled gently. "It wasn't just you, I left Ali too."

"You were safe in there." He interrupted quickly.

"Of course I was but I left Ali alone with them. I'm just glad she got out when she did." Both Jason and Charlotte were looking at the oblivious Alison who was still chatting at the other end of the room with Hanna, Spencer and Aria. "I'm truly thankful for what you and your family did. You didn't have to take a stranger in."

"I'm glad we did." Emily muttered clearly she had been unaware of a lot of the tension in the DiLaurentis family.

"Ali is happier. Noticeably so, you've really helped turning her life around. We shouldn't have left in such a dangerous environment and we will never forgive ourselves for that but now she's safe, she's strong."

"Dangerous?" Emily swallowed uneasily, her curious eyes never leaving Jason and Charlotte's for an answer.

"What has our sister told you exactly?" Jason asked softly, obviously picking up on Emily's lack of knowledge.

"She told me that Jessica used to choke her." She didn't like the way the words feel from her lips, they tasted bitter against her tongue and she swallowed deeply again in an attempt to rid of the flavour.

"Hmm, Jessica was never normally the violent one." Charlotte mumbled neutrally. "That's not to say words don't hurt as much as violence but Kenneth would always be more successful at hurting Ali than any words Jessica threw her way."

"He hurt her?" Emily whispered and she was suddenly feeling sick, she knew about the abuse in Alison's family but she was under the impression that Kenneth had just left them, that was what she was told anyway.

"It was only a few times but a once was enough to finally get Ali out of that house." Charlotte continued to mumble and her brother nodded in agreement.

Emily looked behind her once again to find Alison's eyes, searching them for some sort of explanation even though the blonde was clearly oblivious to their conversation. When their eyes found each other Alison immediately noticed the fear and concern in her eyes but before she could even present a quizzically expression Emily looked back to Jason and Charlotte.

"She told me he left." She said with crossed arms.

"Yeah he left so he wouldn't get thrown in prison." Jason scoffed in disbelief. " _Coward_."

"So you don't know where he is?"

"Probably fled the country. Good ridden I say." Jason growled bitterly.

"What are you guys talking about?" Alison's voice came from behind them, her tone cut and short as she had clearly overheard some of the conversation.

"Kenneth and Jessica." Charlotte shrugged honestly.

"Why?"

"Because Emily deserves to know what kind of people they are." Jason answered.

"Don't you think that perhaps maybe now isn't the time but also that I can present a detailed report of our parents when I'm ready." Alison's arms were crossed and her lips were pressed into a thin line, Emily would've found it terrifying if the blonde's tone hadn't remained so neutral and calm.

"Alison your perception of Jessica and Kenneth is... slightly biased."

"I am aware of who they are and what they did, Jason."

"Then why not tell your girlfriend that?" Charlotte was next to question and Emily's head darted between the three as they played a game of argument tennis.

"Emily is aware of my situation; she knows I will speak in my own time, when _I'm_ ready, not when you think I'm ready. She also knows a lot more than you think."

"I apologise Ali." Charlotte said softly after a few moments of silence and she bowed her head in shame.

"I'm sorry too." Jason almost whimpered.

"I don't want them to be a topic of conversation right now. I want to celebrate the fact I got into college, on a full scholarship, I want to celebrate the fact that I have a beautiful girlfriend who is strong enough to protect me from harms such as our parents and who also managed to get my stubborn brother and sister here without my knowing."

Emily smiled proudly up at Jason and Charlotte before quickly looking back to Alison whose eyes hadn't left her siblings.

"We are proud of you Ali." Charlotte said before wrapping Alison into a warming hug and pulling Jason in moments later.

"Thank you." Alison said before turning to Emily and taking her hand. "And thank you." She whispered.

"Emily," Charlotte began, interrupting the sweet moment between the two girls. "Could you give us a minute?"

Emily looked down at Alison who nodded in silent approval, she knew what her siblings were like but she would have to explain their behavioural habits to her girlfriend another time.

"Sure." Emily turned and headed to Hanna, Spencer and Aria who had been watching the conversation between the four and they quickly turned their heads back to each other in hopes Emily hadn't noticed.

"She noticed, didn't she?" Hanna whispered to Spencer who had vision of the brunette walking over.

"Yes, I did." Emily chuckled while patting Hanna's shoulders.

"Sorry, it's just things looked a little tense. We can't help it, we're curious girls." Hanna shrugged, hoping Emily wasn't mad at her and sure enough the brunette rolled her eyes in forgiveness.

"It's okay, I know you three very well." She wanted to turn around and look at Alison and her siblings but she resisted the urge because she wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to try and figure out what they were talking about.

"So... what's going on? What were you guys talking about before Ali went over?" Spencer encouraged the conversation to move forward because her curiosity couldn't be suppressed.

Emily paused due to a sudden lack of confidence, was it really her place to tell her friends what she and Alison's siblings had been speaking of? Or was it crossing some imaginary line that would upset Alison? She didn't know and if truth be told she didn't want to find out. Aria, being Emily's lifesaver had picked up on her hesitation and she quickly evaded the topic.

"How did you manage to get them here without her noticing anyways? I thought you said Charlotte was in a metal institution?"

Both Spencer and Hanna found this question far more fascinating than the one before, therefore avoiding its revealing and Emily was grateful for her small saviour.

"Well actually I got a hold of Jason first and he said that Charlotte was being released on a trail thing, but they were confident that she was better and wouldn't expect her back as long as Jessica kept her distance. And considering she's in rehab right now I don't think there can be that much more distance." Emily thought it all made sense, Jessica had been caught and she was being treated for her issues, Jason had recently gotten promoted at work and therefore had the ability to take Charlotte in until she too could get a job and sustain a healthy lifestyle and Alison was going to college. Everything was turning out right; that was until Emily found out more about Kenneth, what hadn't Alison told her? Was it really that bad or were Jason and Charlotte being dramatic? They did seem like overly dramatic people even if they did have reason for it.

"You did well Em, Ali seems happy to have them here." Hanna nodded to the trio at the other end of the room and all heads followed. Alison and Charlotte were laughing and even Jason in his tight professional suit looked like he was enjoying whatever joke had just been told.

"I'm still trying to figure out whether or not they like me." Emily noted honestly as she looked back to her friends.

"What's not to love?" Spencer shrugged with her eyes still on the three DiLaurentis children and Hanna, Aria and Emily chuckled before they all left the room to join the adults outside, deciding perhaps it was best to leave Alison with her brother and sister for a while. Emily again resisted the urge to look back and instead focused on the fact that she didn't have to go to school anymore, the thought made her giddy but the thought of going to college made her even giddier. 

-X-

"So Ali, why did you choose Danby anyways?" Hanna question later that night.

Jason and Charlotte had left almost an hour before to return to their hotel, Jason said he was behind on some work he had brought with him and Charlotte was tired. Emily thought briefly that the two were just uncomfortable in her home but she tried not to focus on that thought in fear it may have been the truth, she wanted badly for Alison's siblings to like her.

"Because they have an excellent psychology program." Alison said casually as she dipped her feet in and out of Emily's cold pool. The adults were having a good time back in the house, listening to music and drinking champagne, Emily wondered briefly if it was her graduation or her parents.

" _Yeah_..." Hanna began. " _Psychology_." She laughed as she subtly gestured at Emily who quickly slapped the blonde's pointing finger.

"Shut up you." Emily laughed.

"No, she's right, Em you were definitely a contributing factor in choosing Danby but in the end I chose Danby because it was what I wanted." Alison spoke honestly and her hand quickly found its rightful space against the brunette's before she looked directly at Hanna.

"I'm so excited for you." Hanna squealed happily.

"We all are." Emily laughed while looking over at Spencer and Aria who were nodding in agreement.

"You know Ali, you started out as a bitch but I like how our friendship turned out." Hanna tuned in before Spencer or Aria could speak.

"Lovely Hanna." Aria rolled her eyes before splashing the oblivious blonde with some water from the surprisingly warm pool.

"You watch yourself Aria; don't start a war you won't be able to finish." The blonde warned playfully before splashing a large amount of water at the petite brunette.

"Actually Hanna from memory I recall Emily won that water war." Spencer interrupted and all eyes darted back to Emily, who was slightly stunned by the sudden attention.

"Don't even _think_ about it." She almost growled and three pairs of shoulders dropped in disappointment when their thoughts of throwing the brunette in the water were quickly shut down. "I don't feel like getting wet tonight thank you very much."

The moment she had let the words fall from her lips she regretted it because she knew her friends wouldn't be able to resist the possibility of a joke.

"Did you hear that Ali? You've gotta behave." Hanna giggled and Spencer and Aria joined in, even Alison who had been quiet for a while had to suppress her laughs and when Emily looked at her defensively her lips thinned into a smirk.

"Come on, you kind of left yourself open for that one." She said before kissing Emily's cheek softly.

"I'm so glad my now college friends have the maturity of a fifteen year old." Emily said to her friends that were snickering beside each other on the other edge of the pool.

"Something's never change, hey?" Spencer chuckled as she laid her head against Aria's shoulder, appreciating the time that she was spending with her friends because they all knew that when they hit college time would become limited and though they would never lose their friendship they would lose the gift of seeing each other every day.

"I'm going to miss you guys." Emily saw the glisten in Spencer's eye and she realised what the brunette had been thinking, it was then she also realised how much she was going to miss them.

"We'll see each other no matter what!" Hanna jumped up playfully before pulling Spencer and Aria over to Emily and almost throwing them all into a gripping but surprisingly comforting hug.

"Come here Ali." Spencer said when she looked down to the blonde who still had her feet dipped into the pool looking up at the group enviously. "You're a part of this group."

"Yeah come on in Alison!" Hanna chuckled while leaving the hug to pull Alison up and into the hug beside Emily who had been watching with a small smile. She could see Alison's eyes light up as her friends accepted her into the warming embrace and it made everything around them disappear.

"Friends forever?" Aria whispered in the middle.

"Friends forever." The others replied softly and fell into silence.

"I can't believe we're actually leaving." She continued a few moments later.

"Saying goodbye is a lot harder than I thought it would be." Hanna nodded as she sniffed back some tears.

"How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard?" Spencer said softly, sounding very philosophical as usual.

"What brilliant scholar said that?" Emily questioned as she rested her head against Alison's.

"Winnie the Pooh." Spencer laughed and they all joined in before slowly breaking away from the hug.

"Girls?!" They heard Pam call from the house and it was in that moment they realised the night was beginning its end, causing tears to fill the corner of the eyes and fall into another tight hug.

"We'll see each other before we go okay?" Spencer promised.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be honest I need help packing." Hanna said with a sniff.

"Of course you do." Emily laughed and they broke apart once more to make their way inside and as they said their goodbyes they all realised this was the time in their life they were moving on from teenagers to adults, and it both excited and terrified them but they knew they would always have each other.

That had been how Alison was making it through, she knew she had Emily and she knew that everything else would fall into place. There were still things Emily didn't know about her and she was sure there were things she didn't know about Emily but that made the next chapter in their lives so exciting. She was ready to learn and begin a life with her girlfriend, even if they had only known each other for less than a year it didn't determined the quality of their relationship. She knew what she had was imperfectly perfect and she knew Emily knew that too.

-X-

 _Five Years Later..._

"Can you believe we did it?" Emily whispered as she reached from the steering wheel to entwine her warm fingers with Alison's.

"Yes." The blonde began with a sigh. "I can believe we did it."

She had been silent for a long time; they were driving home to Rosewood, a place they hadn't seen for a long time. Sure they had visited periodically over the last five years but to actually be driving home with their clothing and possessions felt different.

"You know one day, we'll be able to buy our own house." Alison said as she looked to her side at a random house that was for sale.

"Indeed we will." Emily agreed as she felt the blonde's thumb soothe the back of her hand. "But for now, let's be thankful we graduated."

"I can live with that." Alison smiled largely, indeed happy that she had graduated her first degree. "When is your next swimming trail?"

"Not until next month, so you've got me all to yourself." The brunette chuckled as she squeezed her hand.

"Don't get too excited I have my work experience starting Monday." Alison said as Emily pulled the car into her parent's driveway.

"Ah yes, that's in Phillie right?"

"Don't pretend you don't remember, Spencer practically hooked the job up for me no thanks to you." Alison laughed as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

" _What_? They were after college graduates interested in furthering their knowledge in the fields of Psychology. I'm sorry but that's just coincidently perfect for you."

"Well _I_ know that." Alison walked around to Emily's side and wrapped herself in the brunette's warm hold.

"Speaking of coincidences..." Emily mumbled softly as she kissed the top of the blonde's head affectionately and Alison quickly looked up with curious eyes.

"What?" She said with a quirked eyebrow.

"I've got something for you." The brunette pulled away slightly as she reached into the blazer pocket to pull out a small envelope, it was unmarked and looked as though it had been opened and closed several times.

"What is it?" Alison beamed up at Emily, completely oblivious to what it could be and she tried to investigate the envelope for any signs of clues, but it held none.

"Open it." She said and before she could even hand it to Alison, the blonde practically snatched it from her hands.

In a very hurried manner Alison opened the envelope and took out the single piece of paper, reading it in her mind Emily could tell instantly where the blonde was up to by the expression on her face.

"You didn't..." The blonde whispered as she covered her mouth in disbelief.

"I did." Emily giggled, feeling proud of herself.

"Oh my _god_!" She squealed and almost jumped into the brunette's arms.

"We can move in on the fourth." Emily said as she accepted Alison's compressing embrace.

"We... we have a house." It wasn't really a question but Emily nodded in confirmation anyway, sensing that maybe Alison was having a little bit of difficulty taking in the big news.

"It's in Phillie, so it's closer to your new job."

"I love you so much, Emily." Alison exclaimed before passionately kissing her.

"I love you too, Alison." Emily said breathlessly through each kiss and after a long moment of kissing they reluctantly broke apart so Alison could look down at the letter addressed to Emily once more.

"So I guess that means we share a mortgage?" Alison said as she wiped away a stray tear from the corner of her eye.

"I guess it does. To the next chapter?" Emily questioned with a cheeky smile.

"To the next chapter." The blonde replied and then they kissed once more.

 _The End..._

 **And there it is. I hope you guys enjoyed, I've been kind of dreading ending this one cause I really liked it but unfortunately I was losing ideas quickly.  
** _ **Please**_ **no one send anything awful, I'm sorry if I've disappointed. If you do have anything on your mind, ideas/comments and what not, feel free to leave a review or send me a message.**

 **Thanks to everyone for the lovely reviews and for reading! It means so much to me.**

 **I'll be continuing with other fanfics so don't think this is the end!  
Love you guys!**

 **-Aemstar**


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